Lebanon destruction ‘vast’ but so is ‘desire’ to go home – Lebanese-Australian Journalist

From Beirut we’re joined by Lebanese-Australian journalist, Rania Abouzeid.

Cathy Newman: Rania, thousands returning home. What are they telling you about the scale of devastation, what they’re facing there?

Rania Abouzeid: Yes. As you saw from the report, the Lebanese did not wait long at all to head back to their towns and villages, not only in the south, but also in Baalbek and in the Beqaa Valley. The ceasefire took effect at dawn and, very soon after that, there were traffic jams on all of the southbound routes as people headed home or to whatever remained of their home. Certainly the destruction is widespread. There was a report recently that said that up to 100,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. This war killed more than 3700 Lebanese and wounded more than 15,000. So the devastation is vast, but so, too is the ability and the desire of the Lebanese to return home and to rebuild their lives.

Cathy Newman: And are they worried about that rebuilding, given the prospect of new outbreaks of violence loom heavily. But also how they’re going to rebuild, what help they will have to rebuild.

Rania Abouzeid: Well, that’s the key question. Now, Hezbollah’s leaders have said that they will help rebuild – they will help foot the bill for the rebuilding. But, this is not like 2006. Where’s the money going to come from? The country has been mired in a devastating economic collapse since 2019 actually, and it is still feeling the after-effects of that collapse in 2019. Certainly, geopolitically the Gulf states are not as friendly – many of the Gulf states are not as friendly to Lebanon as they were in 2006. And Iran is also sanctioned and it has its own economic woes to contend with. So that’s a big question about where the money is going to come from.

Cathy Newman: And over it all this nervousness hangs about how long this ceasefire will hold. What are your reflections on that?

Rania Abouzeid: Well, it’s a very fragile truce and the potential spoilers are many on both sides of the border. You heard in that report that Netanyahu says that he thinks that Israel reserves the right to strike Lebanese territory if it thinks that Hezbollah is re-arming or that its fighters are moving south of the Litani River. Now, these are very difficult things to verify, given that Hezbollah’s fighters are clandestine and its re-arming is also – it’s not that you don’t see Hezbollah fighters in these areas. Lebanon fears that Israel may try and exploit that and violate Lebanese sovereignty. So it’s a very fragile truce at the moment. So the Lebanese are certainly taking it one day at a time.

Cathy Newman: And is there a lot of nervousness that Hezbollah will breach its side of the deal?

Rania Abouzeid: Well, so far as officials are welcoming this pause, this cessation of hostilities. They view it as a victory. They have said that they have absorbed and endured devastating blows that Israel has unleashed on the group. So devastating that the former secretary general, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, himself described these blows as unprecedented and painful – before he himself was assassinated a month ago. But Hezbollah’s officials are presenting this as a victory because Hezbollah was not destroyed. It remained steadfast. It prevented Israeli soldiers from occupying and creating a new occupation zone in the south. And it says that it will help rebuild after this devastation.