Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam visited heavily damaged towns near the Israeli border on Saturday, pledging reconstruction and lamenting the frequent strikes on the area as a “blow to our dignity.”

It was his first trip to the southern border area since the Lebanese army said in early January that it had completed its mission of disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River.

Under the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, the Iran-backed terror group was required to withdraw and disarm south of the river, but Israel alleges that the group remains entrenched in the area, leading to near-daily IDF strikes.

“The challenges today are great, but they do not push us to retreat; rather, they increase our determination to overcome the obstacles,” he said about the security situation in the country’s south, according to Lebanese media reports.

“Border towns are being attacked on a daily basis, and this is a blow to our dignity,” Salam said, emphasizing that his visit was meant to underscore the presence of the Lebanese state in the south of the country, which was been a stronghold of Hezbollah for decades.

Expanding state authority, he said, means not only deploying the army and restoring security but also restoring public services for residents.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam Begins Two-Day Visit to Southern........

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