The war in Lebanon is exacting a heavy price on civilians and on no group more than the Shiite Muslims in Lebanon. While cease-fire negotiations continue and their conclusion is reported to be in sight, some Lebanese Shiites accuse Israel of targeting the entire sect and destroying its historic landmarks.
They believe they are being unfairly punished because they share a religious identity with the Hezbollah terror group and often live side by side with them in the same area.
Hezbollah continued its rocket fire on Israel on Monday after launching missiles at central Israel a day earlier. Millions were sent into shelters as more than 250 projectiles were launched, causing injuries and damage. The IDF also continued its strikes, including on Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut, the predominantly Shiite Dahieh district.
According to Al-Akhbar, a pro-Hezbollah newspaper, there are doubts in Lebanon that an agreement is within reach. "Israeli and American leaks about a pending deal; Lebanon rejects speculations and awaits the official response."
Thus far at least 3,500 people were killed in Lebanon in the war. Most are Hezbollah operatives but according to reports, 900 of the dead are civilian women and children. One million people have been displaced from their homes and the devastation is estimated at a cost of at least $8 billion.
This has prompted some to wonder why Hezbollah had not agreed to a cease-fire months earlier, when the same terms currently discussed, could have been agreed upon.
This would have spared Lebanon “destruction, martyrs and losses worth billions (of dollars),” Lebanese legislator Waddah Sadek, who is Sunni Muslim, wrote on the X platform.
Criticism of Hezbollah was also voiced by Bahaa Al Hariri, the son of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik al Hariri, who was assassinated in a car bomb attack by Hezbollah terrorists in 2005.
"Lebanon's Independence Day falls at a historic and critical moment this year, in which the country stands at a crossroads that would determine its future," he said in a post on X. "The greatest challenge is our internal divisions and the attempts of some to replace the state and its institutions, especially its military."
IDF strikes Beirut's Dahieh
Hariri continued that real independence means getting rid of foreign guardians, of all forms, and their militias. "The Lebanese people, of all sectors must join the rebuilding of Lebanon." In an earlier post, he praised the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander, Salim Ayyash, who was involved in his father's assassination, in a strike attributed to Israel and also called on the terror group to lay down its arms, after the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in September.
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Shiite cleric Ali Al Amin, who has been critical of Hezbollah in the past, slammed the group for deciding on its own to begin a war with Israel, and called on other Lebanese Shiite leaders to declare that Lebanon is an independent authority and to abandon anything that contradicts its sovereignty or prevents it from fulfilling its role.
"Ask your leaders why they brought this destruction on Lebanon," he said according to a report in Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya network. "Opening a front in support of Hamas in Gaza, only hurt Lebanon," he said adding that it is time to move forward toward co-existence of all sectors.
Some Shiites told the Associated Press that they were concerned that all Shiites in Lebanon would suffer if Hezbollah is weakened, while others said they hoped there could be "greater political openness," that would allow a diversity of Shiite voices.