The two minarets of the Majdel Selm mosque still point, miraculously, towards the sky. The naves like the surrounding buildings were, at best, gutted, if not flattened by Israeli shells. At the foot of the religious building, a group of men, whose clothing style leaves little doubt as to their belonging to Hezbollah, observes the incessant parade of cars which take the main street of the Shiite town, Thursday November 28, raising clouds of white dust. Men get out of their vehicles to give them a warm hug, happy to count them among the living.
Thanks to the ceasefire declared the day before between Israel and Lebanon, the 15,000 inhabitants of this bastion of the Party of God, located 5 kilometers from the demarcation line, returned to a city that the war had made unrecognizable. . Fighters from Majdel Selm had already joined the front opened by Hezbollah against Israel, in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in October 2023, when bombings began to rain down on the city a year later, at the launch of a vast military operation by Israel.
“Majdel Selm was 90% destroyed in the space of two months. This is pure revenge. Because we gave a lot to the resistance. Because Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah [l’ancien chef du Hezbollah, tué par Israël, le 27 septembre] often spoke of Majdel Selm »says Mohammed Alaa Eddin, the nephew of a local city councilor, posted on the square. Dressed in a t-shirt, black fatigues and a pair of military boots, the 33-year-old directs the residents. He confirms the number of victims: 65 combatants and 14 civilians died as “martyrs”.
Hezbollah's victory is nevertheless final, in his eyes. “The Israelis have not managed to get a foothold in the city. They stopped on the hill opposite, at Tallousseh”the young man says. “The resistance was confronted by Israelis, Americans and even Emirati pilots, adds Abdelatif Hamza, a 66-year-old jeweler, convinced of the veracity of this rumor. We return to our homes, to our land: so it’s a victory! »
“A simple political party”
The Party of God cultivates the image of resilience in the absence of « victoire » more striking, as during the previous war of 2006. This time, Israel has clearly demonstrated its military superiority and undermined the myth of an overpowering Hezbollah, capable of imposing a balance of deterrence with the help of its Iranian godfather. The Israeli army estimates having killed between 2,500 and 3,500 Hezbollah fighters and 14 of its leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli intelligence services penetrated the heart of the “axis of resistance”, flushed out its executives and commanders. The Jewish State's aviation has sowed unparalleled desolation in the strongholds of the Shiite party, bringing it to its knees and testing its relationship with the base.
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