Lebanon’s president makes a rare visit to southern Lebanese city

Some residents of Nabatiyeh have been calling on the army to boost its presence in the city in order to avoid a possible Israeli ground offensive.

By The Associated Press

Lebanon’s president made a rare visit to a southern city Saturday, close to where Israel captured a strategic hill from Hezbollah terrorists.

President Joseph Aoun’s visit to Nabatiyeh came after Israel seized parts of Ali Taher ridge earlier this month, where Israeli officials said they had blown up Hezbollah tunnel networks.

The ceasefire largely halted active fighting, which began on March 2, when the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran.

However, Israel has continued attacks and airstrikes on areas in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has also fired explosive drones without claiming responsibility.

Heads of the crisis-hit nation’s security agencies accompanied Aoun, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Some residents of Nabatiyeh have been calling on the army to boost its presence in the city in order to avoid a possible Israeli ground offensive.

A man told Aoun in footage aired on local TV stations residents want to feel secure and that their children are safe after being displaced and humiliated.

Aoun said the state will follow up on the needs of the residents “so that you stay here.”

He later went to the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh that is part of the U.S.-brokered “pilot zones” agreement under which Israel consented to withdraw from the area in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

In comments later released by his office, the president said the people of south Lebanon “have the right to live safely and to build their homes with the assurance that they will not be demolished or destroyed.”

Lebanon and Israel have held several rounds of direct talks in Washington and Rome. The State Department announced Friday that the next round of Israel-Lebanon talks will be held in Rome in October.

Hezbollah rejects direct talks with Israel and has called on the government to abolish the framework agreement reached in June. The group has also refused to call for its disarmament.