Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made an unannounced visit to Nabatieh on Saturday, arriving in the southern city with army commander General Rodolphe Haykal and senior security officials two days after Israel destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel complex nearby.
Aoun said there are no new talks with Israel at present, comments that followed a US State Department official's confirmation that the next round of American-mediated negotiations, due to be held in Rome this week, has been pushed to October. He said the visit was meant to signal that the state stands with residents, and that Israeli withdrawal, the return of the displaced and reconstruction were non-negotiable priorities. He also praised staff at Nabatieh Governmental Hospital for continuing to work in an area most residents have fled. It was his first trip to the south since Hezbollah attacked Israel in March.
The visit came hours after Israel detonated more than 1,100 tonnes of explosives on the Ali al-Taher ridge to destroy the tunnels beneath it, producing a magnitude 4.1 tremor recorded by the US Geological Survey and shaking the ground across Nabatieh.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that Israeli forces would remain in the area to prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing itself, and the IDF said the network ran more than two kilometres and held dozens of rockets, missiles and drones along with anti-tank missiles, mines and explosive devices. The ridge overlooks Nabatieh to the west and Marjayoun, Khiam and Shebaa to the east.
Renewed Israeli strikes across the Nabatieh and Tyre districts have killed at least 29 people in recent days, including 12 members of one family, and the Lebanese military has warned that continued strikes threaten the viability of the June framework governing phased withdrawal and Hezbollah's disarmament.
