Lebanon PM pledges reconstruction on visit to ruined Southern border towns

Lebanon PM pledges reconstruction on visit to ruined Southern border towns
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Lebanese Prime Minister visited heavily damaged towns close to the Israeli border on Saturday, pledging reconstruction, Al Arabiya English reported.

It was Nawaf Salam’s first trip to the southern border area since the army said it finished disarming Hezbollah there, in January.

Swathes of south Lebanon’s border areas remain in ruins and largely deserted more than a year after a US-brokered November 2024 ceasefire sought to end hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

Lebanon’s government has committed to disarming Hezbollah, and the army last month said it had completed the first phase of its plan to do so, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border about 30 kilometers (20 miles) further south.

The Lebanese PM vowed authorities would begin key projects including restoring roads, communications networks and water in the two towns.

Last year, the World Bank announced it had approved $250 million to support Lebanon’s post-war reconstruction, after estimating that it would cost around $11 billion in total.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticized the army’s progress as insufficient, while Hezbollah has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.

Despite the truce, Israel has kept up regular strikes on what it usually says are Hezbollah targets and maintains troops in five south Lebanon areas.

Lebanese officials have accused Israel of seeking to prevent reconstruction in the heavily damaged south with repeated strikes on bulldozers, excavators and prefabricated houses.