Berri: Israel fuels division in southern Lebanon
Shafaq News- Beirut
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday accused Tel Aviv of trying to sow division among border communities through “lies and fabrications,” referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that Christian villages in southern Lebanon had sought annexation to Israel.
Berri, who also heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement, welcomed statements by municipal leaders and religious figures refuting the allegation. He also urged the Lebanese government, along with Arab and international actors, to halt “the systematic destruction” of towns and villages in the Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Nabatieh, and Tyre districts, arguing that the campaign aims to render large parts of the south uninhabitable.
*أشاد بمواقف فعاليات القرى الحدودية، ونبّه من مغبة الوقوع في الأكاذيب والأباطيل الإسـ رائيلية، وشدد على وجوب أن تتحرك الدولة اللبنانية، والمجتمعان العربي والدولي، لوقف عملية التدمير الممنهج ونسف القرى*الرئيس نبيه بري: مواقف أبناء وفعاليات القرى الحدودية تعكس أصالة انتمائهم… pic.twitter.com/XfiPkFkoMx
— حركة أمل-هيئة التواصل الالكتروني (@Amalemedia) July 6, 2026
Netanyahu had claimed yesterday that some Christian villages along Lebanon’s southern border had sought Israel’s protection from Hezbollah, “which wants to kill them.” Rmeish Mayor Hanna Al-Amil dismissed the claim, noting that 15 Christian border villages, many repeatedly targeted since hostilities resumed on March 2, had already issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty and national identity.
Read more: Israel's war fell on Christians and Shiites in Southern Lebanon
Earlier today, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, a native of the southern village of Al-Aaishiyah, renewed calls for the Lebanese Army to deploy along the entire border and pressed the international community to increase pressure on Israel to end its presence in occupied Lebanese territory.
Beirut and Tel Aviv agreed to a US-mediated security arrangement on June 26 that provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal in exchange for broader deployment of the Lebanese Army and the disarmament of armed groups. Hezbollah and several Lebanese political factions opposed the proposal, while Israel continues to insist that any withdrawal depends on Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Daily Israeli military operations, however, continued across southern Lebanon, with strikes hitting Kfartebnit, drones dropping stun grenades over Nabatieh Al-Fawqa and near Al-Mansouri in the Tyre district, and forces demolishing homes in Aitaroun, Kounine, and Houla, local media reported earlier today. Lebanon’s Health Ministry also said a drone strike on a vehicle in Nabatieh Al-Fawqa killed four people.
The overall toll from the war between March 2 and July 6 has reached 4,319 people killed and 12,203 others wounded, including women and children, according to the Health Ministry.
