SOUTH LEBANON — After sporadic attacks over the past two weeks, the Israeli occupation regime launched a series of violent raids on Lebanese regions on Thursday.

The escalation of the aggression was expected ahead of the fourth and final round of municipal and mayoral elections in the South Governorate and Nabatieh Governorate, which will take place on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation.

Despite the enemy’s threat that it would not allow popular gatherings in the border region, people reacted fervently. They demonstrated their enthusiasm for massive participation in the election scheduled for Saturday (May 24) in defiance of the U.S.-led Israeli ongoing attacks.

This final phase of the municipal and mayoral elections holds exceptional strategic importance, especially given that this region is located in direct contact with the occupied Palestine that a portion of which remains under occupation after the Israeli regime refused to withdraw from it in violation of the ceasefire agreement and UN Resolution 1701.

The primary challenge facing the Lebanese government is protecting the security of the election, as experience proves Israel feels no limit to its aggressive and unlawful behaviors.

Weeks ago, official Lebanese contacts were made with the U.S. side in an attempt to ensure the holding of elections in the south (particularly those located along the border strip), and the government was in the process of distributing prefabricated houses for use as polling stations, but the U.S. side offered no assurances.

Approximately 90 hours before the polls opened, the enemy carried out four assassinations in various areas, followed by the targeting of the city of Nabatieh, one of the largest election centers in the south and home to exceptional polling stations designated for residents of border villages adjacent to occupied Palestine.

It is worth noting that the two southern governorates are a key stronghold for the Shiite duo, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, and represent the vital core of the resistance movement. Hence, the turnout resulting from the ballot boxes will send important messages. 

Although the election is primarily developmental, it is an opportunity to gauge the pulse of the post-war South, based on an objective democratic mechanism, not political interpretations, so that decisions can be made accordingly.

Undoubtedly, the anti-Resistance team is actively seeking to create a loophole(s) in the southern municipalities to exploit it/them in the May 2026 parliamentary elections. Even by withdrawing a single Shiite seat, it would be sufficient to strip the Shiite duo of the fateful position of the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem has already sent a message to the people of southern Lebanon, calling on them to participate massively in the municipal and mayoral elections, calling participation part of their steadfastness and confrontation with the Israeli occupation.

For his part, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in his capacity as leader of the Amal Movement, also urged southern voters to participate massively.

Meanwhile, the Shiite duo succeeded in forming approximately 100 municipalities by acclamation, reflecting widespread popular support for the resistance option, particularly in the villages located on the front line with occupied Palestine, despite all the malicious incitement campaigns and attempts to prevent reconstruction.