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Amidst a total electrical blackout that struck the entire country on Aug 17 as a result of the depletion of needed fuel for power stations, the Lebanese nowadays feel more disgruntled as Hezbollah relentlessly drags the country to war with Israel.
Lebanese Citizens Bashing Hezbollah
A deluge of Lebanese social media accounts bashed the actions of Hezbollah and its recklessness in handling Lebanon's fate. A video posted on Al Arabia News TV's website shared some of these disgruntled voices. This video is a continuation of criticism directed to the leader of Hezbollah and the elements of his Iran-backed terrorist group inside Lebanon and abroad.
Openly criticizing Hezbollah can be dangerous to one's health in Lebanon. Under the hashtag, "I will not sacrifice myself for you, sir," many disgruntled Lebanese citizens wrote messages, such as the following:
- "The Lebanese people do not deserve to have weapons and ammunition stores planted among their safe homes...How long will this horror continue?" wrote Aline Samed with a video of the explosion of a munitions storage depot near civilian areas on Aug 19.
- Another account wrote "No one turns their people into human-shields except the axis of ecstasy," mockingly referring to the Axis of Resistance (comprised of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Houthis and Hamas).
- "Hezbollah marched us to war with an Iranian decision; Lebanon is getting bombarded while Iran is enjoying quietness and security," wrote William Nakhle.
Several Lebanese residents posted complaints against Hezbollah with the following image depicting the Hezbollah logo atop a fiery explosion. The bold Arabic text translates to "Hezbollah's munition stores are between people's homes, the people are not human shields."
- "The people will not sacrifice themselves for you," wrote Eddy El.
- "The party is the one who causes people to be injured, killed, and their homes and properties to be destroyed," wrote Hanine Abdel Massih.
Lebanese Onslaught Since October 7
On August 25, after detecting an imminent massive Hezbollah attack, Israel launched a preemptive strike on Hezbollah's rocket and missile infrastructure. Thousands of Hezbollah missile launchers were destroyed, according to Israeli military reports. Hezbollah claimed it launched a barrage of 320 rockets on northern Israel, none of which hit any major Israeli targets.
Since October 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets and missiles daily at Israel, Israel has targeted Hezbollah launch sites, Hezbollah commanders, ammunition depots, and other terrorist targets. Lebanese officials say that 564 Lebanese have been killed but the Israeli government has meticulously documented that the vast majority of those killed were Hezbollah terrorists. Even Hezbollah has not disputed those claims. And while Hezbollah likes to complain that more than 100,000 Lebanese have evacuated south Lebanon, the only reason is that Hezbollah has been deliberately firing missiles and rockets directly from the safe haven civilian areas.
On the other side of the border, an even greater number of Israelis—estimates range up to 110,000-- have fled the upper one-seventh of their own country as Hezbollah has fired more than 5,000 rockets, missiles and drones indiscriminately at Israeli civilian homes and cities. One city, Kiryat Shimona, once home to 22,000 Israelis, is now a virtual ghost town with more than 70% of its homes damaged or destroyed
Hezbollah has constructed military installations across Lebanon and has total control of its southern regions bordering Israel. It also controls the southern district of the capital Beirut which has comprised one of the terrorist group's strongholds for decades. Some of the military installations include long tunnels beneath Lebanese cities.
Hezbollah's Messaging Fails
Last week, Hezbollah released propaganda videos showing the intricate web of tunnels that the commanders and fighters of Hezbollah possess in a show of force. But Lebanese citizens mocked the video and criticized its message.
"Solid infrastructure, clean roads, electricity, Hezbollah's Lebanon underground looks more beautiful than Hezbollah's Lebanon above ground. You are taking care of the General Secretary (Nasrallah)?" asked Lebanese journalist Mariam Magdoline in a video on August 18.
"What is this video, Hezbollah: are you feeding Lebanon like a lamb and preparing it for slaughter in high-definition technology?" "Frankly, not only are you sending the message that Beirut's southern district is the target, your message says: No! All of Lebanon is a security square for us (Hezbollah); we live in the mountains, we plan to leave no safe place for the Lebanese people," added Magdoline.
"Hezbollah is increasing the videos these days; is it really that weak militarily to the extent that it is increasing the number of (propaganda) videos and conducting a psychological warfare accompanied by the holy Quran as if your actions are holy?" said Magdoline.
Hezbollah militants have grown used to walking freely, armed in public areas and at events such as its recent show of power during a funeral in Ain El Helwa Palestinian refugee encampment in Lebanon. This matter has irked Lebanese civilians who believe that Hezbollah is a state within a state in their country.
Hezbollah Has Taken Over Lebanon
Hezbollah influence in Lebanon far exceeds that of the central caretaker government, especially in matters of security, as the Hezbollah militants maintain firm control, particularly in southern Lebanon. Videos of Hezbollah militants threatening Lebanese security forces, such as this one taken in 2023, are all over the internet. In the video, two men force an entire police unit in Kafrkahel town to withdraw their car under threat that a Hezbollah-affiliated militia of 3000 soldiers will come to eliminate them. The officers were insulted by humiliating swear words and called "crusaders" for being Christian.
Even before the current war in Gaza, Hezbollah systematically paraded and flaunted its power publicly in Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut. Last year, a video went viral online of Hezbollah armored vehicles and heavy artillery batteries that were paraded with lorries carrying them in the streets of Beirut and the Valley of Beqaa.
Lebanese politicians have also expressed their anger and fear of the reckless Hezbollah behavior that is pushing a battered Lebanon to a full-scale war, with Lebanon forced to serve Iranian interests.
"Hezbollah doesn't have the right to control the fate of the Lebanese as well as making crucial decisions that concern their destiny without their consent," said veteran politician Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces Party in a press conference on Aug 16.
"The party supports Iran's strategy in the region, and it cannot act against the will of the Lebanese people, and here the responsibility lies with the Lebanese government, which must take a firm stance in this regard," said Geagea further.
Last May, Geagea stated that Hezbollah's fighting with Israel is harming Lebanon. "No one has the right to control the fate of a country and people on its own," said Geagea in an interview with the Associated Press from his home. "Hezbollah is not the government in Lebanon. There is a government in Lebanon in which Hezbollah is represented."
Lebanon was on the brink of total economic bankruptcy in April 2022 after Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Al-Shamy declared the state and Central Bank of Lebanon's bankruptcy before withdrawing his statements hours later.
That said, the current dismal economic status of Lebanon is reflected in the total blackout that hit the country in August, affecting the entire country, including its airports and state institutions.
The Lebanese citizens are now relying entirely on environmentally damaging and costly generators for their power supply for their homes, as the national grid is offline. Emergency gas and oil shipments are now en route from Egypt and Algeriato Lebanon in an attempt to rectify the dire situation.
UN Resolution 1701
In 2006 Hezbollah instigated a month-long war against Israel by killing 4 Israeli reservists and kidnapping 2 others from Israeli territory. Following Hezbollah's brazen aggression, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1701 which calls for Hezbollah and all terrorist forces in southern Lebanon to withdraw back to the Litani River and for that area south of the Litani to be free of any armed personnel, assets, or weapons other than those of the Lebanese government and UNIFIL. Israel withdrew back to its border but Hezbollah embedded thousands of armed terrorists right up to the Israeli border, dug deep tunnels under the Israeli border to carry out terrorist operation to kill and kidnap Israelis (exactly as Hamas did on October 7), and installed tens of thousands of rocket and missile launchers.
Lebanese parliament MP George Adwan expressed his disappointment for the weakness of the Lebanese state and the fact that its sovereignty has been hijacked by Hezbollah and Iran.
"There is a force outside the state that imposes on the state what it wants, and Lebanon is subject to a decision outside the homeland and the entity, so the decision of war and peace is not ours," said Adwan on August 24 during a bridge opening ceremony.
Adnan called upon Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Nagib Mikaty to redeploy the Lebanese army in the southern Lebanon region bordering Israel to prevent the escalation of war.
"Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati must unite the government and deploy the army on the border. The deployment of the army may prevent the expansion of the war and be an entry point for implementing Resolution 1701," said Adwan.
"We all know that no homeland will remain and no entity will continue without a capable, strong and a just state that solidifies its presence across the land... And where is that state today? Today, the state is weak and vulnerable, and there is a force imposing on it what it wants," wrote George Adwan on his X account on Aug 24. "The government is powerless and the presidency is empty. The state's decision is absent and dominates the decision of war and peace. The fate of the nation and the citizen has become linked to the decision of others who do not consider Lebanon's interest first and last."
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is vehemently conducting calls and meetings with foreign heads of states, ministers and diplomats in an attempt to contain an escalating situation that may lead to a full-scale war. However, Mikati ignores the elephant in the room, as the main problem facing Lebanon remains a domestic one which is Hezbollah's de facto control over Lebanon.
Lebanon's fate as a state is now reliant upon extracting itself from the clutches of terrorist-supporting Iran and its resident terrorist agents Hezbollah. Thus far, the presidency and government have shown no signs of facing Hezbollah's never-ending ambitions, despite the human, economic and political costs incurred by Hezbollah's actions on Lebanon.
IPT Senior Fellow Hany Ghoraba is an Egyptian writer, political and counter-terrorism analyst at Al Ahram Weekly and a regular contributor the BBC. He is the author of Egypt's Arab Spring: The Long and Winding Road to Democracy
He is a writer and contributor for over a dozen international outlets, periodicals and networks including Newsmax, OANN, BBC Radio, CSP, MEF, American Spectator, American Thinker, Arab Weekly and Al Arabiya News.
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