SOUTH LEBANON — On the eve of Eid al-Adha, a terrorist attack targeting residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah's stronghold, resulted in significant damage to buildings and institutions, as well as serious property destruction.

In an additional escalation, the Israeli army issued another warning statement calling for the evacuation of buildings in the southern town of Ain Qana in parallel with sending audio messages threatening a large number of villages and towns.

President Joseph Aoun issued a statement expressing his protest against the U.S. administration, which is covering up the aggression.

Aoun noted that “this blatant violation of an international agreement and the basic principles of international and humanitarian laws and resolutions—on the eve of a sacred religious occasion—is clear evidence of the perpetrator’s [Israel’s] rejection of the requirements of stability, settlement, and just peace in our region.”

The Lebanese President added that the perpetrator of these atrocities is sending a message “to the United States of America and its policies—and its initiatives first and foremost—from Beirut and through the blood of its innocents and civilians.”
Aoun concluded by emphasizing that “Lebanon will never submit.”

For his part, Israel’s Minister of War, Yisrael Katz, threatened to continue the aggression against Lebanon “if the authorities do not disarm Hezbollah”. He added, “There will be no peace in Beirut, no order, no stability in Lebanon, without the security of the State of Israel.”

“Israel will continue to implement the cease-fire rules without any concessions, and will not allow any party to threaten the residents of the north [Palestinian occupied territories],” Katz said, placing the Lebanese government “directly responsible for preventing violations of the cease-fire and all terrorist activities.”

Upon the release of the Israeli threatening statements, the Lebanese army asked for time to deal with any possible violations. But the enemy launched warning raids to prevent its units from leaving the targeted locations as confirmed by the American side participating in the ceasefire monitoring committee (headed by American General Michael J. Linney), who conveyed to Lebanon the enemy’s insistence on targeting the buildings.

Consultations between the Lebanese side and the supervision committee have shown that the targets of the enemy in the southern suburbs are only residential bases that do not contain any military facilities, as claimed. 
 
The Lebanese army condemned the Israeli attacks, which came “on the eve of the holidays, in a clear attempt by the enemy to hinder the progress of our country and its recovery”, stressing that the enemy “does not care about the cease-fire mechanism and the committee’s efforts.”

In turn, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nabih Berri, emphasized that “our position is consistent with the position of His Excellency the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, in all aspects.”

“We are grateful for all sacrifices. We offer sacrifices in defense of Lebanon and its sovereignty,” Berri stated.

MP Ali Ammar, a member of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, pointed out that “the Israeli aggression reveals the malicious and hidden intentions of the enemy.”

“The responsibility for this unlimited Israeli arrogance lies with the countries sponsoring the agreement, first and foremost the U.S., which has never been an honest mediator, but rather a key partner in all Israeli attacks and crimes against Lebanon’s land, sovereignty, and people.

It does not content itself with financing the Israeli killing machine with the most brutal internationally prohibited weapons, but rather directs it, justifies it, and prevents it from being held accountable in international forums, and even stands in the way of any international resolution condemning and halting its aggression by using its veto,” Ammar said.
 
Meanwhile, the Office of the Special Coordinator of the United Nations in Lebanon has called for “the cessation of any acts that are considered to undermine the understanding of the cessation of hostilities and the implementation of Resolution 1701”.

In light of the increasing Israeli violations and the continued occupation of Lebanese lands, in addition to the almost daily assassinations of Lebanese citizens, it seems the only mission of the oversight committee is to submit to Israeli orders.

In light of the escalating Israeli violations, the continued occupation of the Five Hills and other Lebanese territories, and the near-daily assassinations of Lebanese citizens, the Supervisory Committee appears to be solely tasked with subjugating Lebanon to Israeli orders, nothing more, nothing less.

Holidays offer an opportunity for societal psychological restoration and the strengthening of resilience and solidarity.  Hence, it is no coincidence that the Israeli enemy decided to bomb the southern suburbs on the eve of Eid al-Adha and before that on the eve of Eid al-Fitr.

According to cognitive warfare research, such as RAND and DARPA studies, these attacks, their timing, and the choice of location are not only military violence, but are tools of destabilization of meaning; their primary goal is to sabotage sacred moments, occupy us with counting losses, and even pushing us to question our sources of strength and the effectiveness of resistance and steadfastness.