Nawaf Salam from southern Lebanon: The size of the needs exceeds the state’s capabilities and we need significant funding

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, from southern Lebanon, said today, Friday, that the extent of the needs resulting from the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel exceeds the capabilities of the Lebanese state and requires significant funding, according to Agence France-Presse.

On the sidelines of a visit he began on Friday morning to Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in the south, which was subjected to widespread destruction as a result of Israeli strikes during the war with Hezbollah, Salam said, addressing the people of the south: “I realize the magnitude of the crisis. I know your fatigue and I understand the suffering of those who lost their home, those who lost their work or their source of livelihood, and those who are waiting to be able to restore their home or return to their town and restore their lives. But the scale of the needs exceeds the capabilities of the Lebanese state and its ability to bear these burdens alone.”

He added: “We still need significant funding. But I want you to be confident that we are striving, and we will continue to strive, to secure everything we can to advance the south.”

Lebanon entered the war on March 2 after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel, which it said were in response to the killing of Iranian guide Ali Khamenei in the first American and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Israel responded with an intense campaign of raids and a ground incursion by its forces, which occupied dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon, and widespread bombing operations.

In his speech before the Lebanese Parliament in mid-September, Nawaf Salam indicated that the cost of the two recent wars between Israel and Hezbollah since October 2023 on Lebanon may exceed $27 billion, according to World Bank estimates.

Despite the announcement of a ceasefire since June, Nabatieh and its surroundings were subjected to intense Israeli strikes.

This is the second visit by a senior official to the city since the outbreak of the war, after a similar visit made by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun last month.

Salam's tour includes a visit to security headquarters after they were rehabilitated and restored after they were damaged during the recent war, and the laying of the foundation stone for a new headquarters for the Lebanese Civil Defense.

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The Lebanese authorities are trying hard, despite their modest capabilities, to advance reconstruction efforts.

Salam said: “I am here today to confirm the return of state institutions to their work.” It is an essential part of the return of life to this dear city, and it will be in the service of supporting the steadfastness of its good people and stabilizing their survival in their land.”

He announced the launch of 23 tenders in the Nabatieh district, including, among other projects, removing obstacles, restoring roads, rehabilitating shelter centers, and providing ambulances and medical equipment.

The intensity of the fighting calmed down after a memorandum of understanding was reached between Iran and the United States in June, and then Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement stipulating the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the lands it had penetrated into southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting from two “experimental” areas.

Hezbollah refuses to disarm, and also refuses direct negotiations with Israel.

Israel continues to occupy large areas in southern Lebanon, where it announced the establishment of a “security zone” up to ten kilometers deep along its borders, and continues to carry out massive strikes, demolitions and explosions.

In his speech, Salam stressed the importance of “mobilizing the capabilities and support we can to achieve complete Israeli withdrawal and rebuild the state.” A capable and effective state, one state for all its people, one army, and one decision, especially the decision of war and peace.”

He continued, "This is the way so that we do not find ourselves again facing a new war, new pretexts for attacking Lebanon, or a new expansion of the occupation."