The Media Line: Lebanese Public Rejects Warming to Israel: Too Much Bad Blood 

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Lebanese Public Rejects Warming to Israel: Too Much Bad Blood 

Lebanese President Aoun says he seeks peace with Israel without full normalization, while Hezbollah remains armed and active 

By Taylor Thomas / The Media Line 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has been loud and clear; his government will not normalize relations with Israel after 77 years of war. “Peace is the lack of a state of war, and this is what matters to us in Lebanon at the moment,” he said last week. “As for the issue of normalization, it is not currently part of Lebanese foreign policy,” Aoun added. 

Despite the ceasefire signed in November, Israeli troops remain on Lebanese soil and continue to strike locations across the country daily. 

Two weeks ago, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem told crowds in southern Beirut, “We cannot be asked to soften our stance or lay down arms while [Israeli] aggression continues.” 

Earlier this week, the deadliest Israeli airstrike since the ceasefire struck the eastern Beqaa Valley, killing at least 12 people on Tuesday. Seven Syrians, including a family of five, and three Lebanese were killed when the Wadi Faara area was hit, according to Baalbek-Hermel Governor Bachir Khodr, who posted the information on X. Two more deaths were reported in Shmustar, 60 kilometers north.  

The Media Line attempted to reach a government official for comment on the issue of normalization with Israel but received no response. A statement from Aoun’s office emphasized that the president “distinguished between peace and normalization.” During a meeting in Beirut with a delegation from the Arab International Relations Council, Aoun, who was elected in January after more than two years of political deadlock, called for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and reaffirmed that the state alone will control weapons. 

Aoun sent a direct message to Hezbollah: “The decision to concentrate arms in the hands of the state has been made, and there is no going back on it. The decision on war and peace rests solely with the Council of Ministers.” He also praised Lebanon’s influential parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally, Nabih Berri, for his “contribution to achieving the principle of restricting weapons.” 

However, Qassem dismissed the possibility of Hezbollah disarming despite growing external pressure. Hezbollah-linked outlet Al-Mayadeen reported on Friday that the group’s leader issued a strong statement pushing back against US calls to lay down their arms and claimed that the Trump administration was seeking to “coordinate the war with Israel and is working to expand its influence in the region.” 

Back in November, the Israeli war against Hezbollah ended after killing more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and causing an estimated $11 billion in damage. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed. During two months of intense attacks by Israel, Hezbollah was significantly weakened, and its military capabilities were reduced. Its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated after 32 years at the helm. 

Israel has expressed interest in normalizing ties with Lebanon and Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad, a Hezbollah ally. Last month, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he hoped for peace with both Mediterranean countries, which have remained in a formal state of war with Israel since its founding in 1948. One Israeli official stated that normalization with Lebanon could not proceed until Hezbollah is disarmed. 

“I find it very hard to imagine that any of these countries would normalize relations with Israel,” said Daniel Girgis, an expert on American foreign policy. “Hezbollah is of course diminished as a regional force and as a possible threat to Israel, but still in Lebanon they are not something that could be ignored,” he told The Media Line. 

Since the war with Iran, American President Donald Trump has revived the issue of normalization with Israel through the Abraham Accords. Officials in the Trump administration have even floated the idea of normalization between Lebanon and Israel. “The Lebanese have an interest in not alienating the Trump administration, but this is very far from normalizing relations with Israel,” Girgis said. 

Normalization remains a deeply unpopular concept in Lebanese society. “When people talk about normalization, I get really mad,” Yara Arslan, a 27-year-old Lebanese citizen, told The Media Line. “Israel has hurt us so much; how can you even think of normalizing relations with them? I don’t want anything to do with them,” she added, visibly upset. Public opinion in Lebanon remains staunchly opposed to normalization, given Israel’s violent history in the country. 

Ambassador Tom Barrack, who serves in the Republic of Turkey and is a Special Envoy for Syria, has visited Lebanon numerous times to press for Hezbollah’s disarmament. On July 9, as he departed Beirut, Israel announced that some of its troops had entered southern Lebanon, another violation of the truce. Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the ceasefire, including at least 231 deaths and over 500 injuries, since the agreement was signed on November 27. 

Under the terms of that understanding, Hezbollah was required to leave southern Lebanon. Israel was given 60 days to withdraw, with Lebanese army forces and international peacekeepers expected to replace them. Yet Israel remains at five strategic points overlooking the border. 

Aoun said the continued Israeli military presence “obstructs the complete deployment of the army up to the internationally recognized borders” as Israeli strikes persist, not only in the south but also in the east, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and in the north of the country.