MP Marwan Hamadeh, member of the Democratic Gathering bloc, stressed that the situation in southern Lebanon “remains open to all possibilities,” and that “the front will continue, even if at a varying pace.”
He also expressed hope that the Safed and Nabatiyeh strikes, in which civilians were killed last week, would lead “to curbing the targeting of civilians from both sides.”
In an interview with Voice of Lebanon on Monday, Hamadeh also ruled out significant escalations before Ramadan, describing a “waiting and exhaustion” phase along the southern border and within Lebanon’s political landscape.
More than eight people (including seven from the same family) perished in an Israeli strike targeting a three-story building in Nabatiyeh on February 14. The attack was in response to a large-scale Hezbollah attack on Israeli military targets the previous day, in which a female soldier was killed in Safed and seven other soldiers were reportedly wounded.
Hamadeh also stressed that “the historic relationship between the Hariri family and the Joumblatt family, as well as between the Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), has not been permanently cut off,” following speculation sparked by the fact that Walid Joumblat and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri did not meet during the latter’s stay in Lebanon to mark the 19th commemoration of the assassination of his father, Rafic Hariri, on February 14, 2005.
“There was an absence of communication for over a year with President Hariri, who can be said to have withdrawn from interaction,” he added.
On the deadlocked presidential election, Hamadeh highlighted the difficulty of separating this issue “from security,” indicating that it “was already complicated” before the developments in Gaza and the South.
In this context, he criticized caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s diplomatic efforts, describing them as “diplomatic tourism” that failed to address key issues, including the presidency file.
He also noted that US envoy Amos Hochstein did not tackle the presidential crisis in his latest visits to Lebanon.
