Al-Hajjar pledges to return the state to the entire south “until the last atom of its soil.”

The Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Ahmed Al-Hajjar, confirmed that the Lebanese state will impose its sovereignty over the entire territory of the south, down to “the last atom of its soil,” stressing that this region is pivotal for the state. Al-Hajjar’s statements came in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, on the sidelines of an official visit conducted by the Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, to the city of Nabatieh, at the head of a ministerial delegation.

In the same context, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed during the tour the need to mobilize the necessary support to ensure Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon immediately, without linking this to any regional settlements, pointing out at the same time that the scale of the humanitarian and development crisis that the south is suffering from exacerbates the capabilities of the Lebanese state and exceeds its available capabilities.

The government delegation’s program included visiting a number of security and government headquarters in the region, in addition to laying the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the civil defense building that was destroyed by a previous Israeli raid, and the opening of the new headquarters of the municipal council in Nabatieh.

It should be noted that Salam had indicated in a speech he delivered before the House of Representatives in mid-September, based on World Bank estimates, that the losses and economic costs of the two recent wars between Israel and Hezbollah since October 2023 may exceed the $27 billion barrier.