Liberation Day celebrations for Lebanon that was defeated under the new Israel | Israel is attacking Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon – On May 25, 2000, the last Israeli soldiers left southern Lebanon and ended their 18-year mission.

The expulsion of the Israeli army by the army led by Hezbollah has been the cause of national celebration in Lebanon since then, but this year, a new operation in the south has solved the problem.

“Independence Day is a holy day for us,” Ali Saleh, 55, from Jwaya in southern Lebanon told Al Jazeera. “It’s a holiday of victory, pride and honor.”

Saleh said he would spend the day of salvation at the Camille Chamoun stadium in south Beirut, where he lives with his wife and son after being displaced in March, when Israeli forces again entered the south.

He is one of the more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon who have been driven from their homes, mostly from southern Lebanon and areas south of Beirut since then.

In the past two years, Lebanon has been occupied twice by Israel. In early 2025, two months after agreeing to a ceasefire, Israeli forces withdrew from all but five areas in southern Lebanon. This time, however, many Lebanese fear that history is repeating itself, and that the long period of Israeli occupation has begun again.

“He who did not live in southern Lebanon before the year 2000 did not know what it means to be down,” said Saleh. “The day of salvation broke our chains, freed the precious earth, freed the plants, freed the butterflies, birds, every dust.” It freed everything.

Argumentative speech on Freedom

During the civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990), Israel occupied the country twice – in 1978 and 1982 – to expel the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the country.

Israeli forces reached Beirut in 1982, forcing PLO fighters out of Lebanon. But the Israelis continued to occupy most of southern Lebanon, until they were driven out in 2000, following a persistent campaign by Hezbollah. Israel’s recent attacks brought back memories of years of southern colonial rule.

“There is pain in my heart because this holiday is not over,” said Saleh. “We are living in a body without a soul. Our soul is in the south and our bodies are here. I wish that we celebrate this Eid in our country.”

Early on March 2, Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli targets for the first time in a year in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Despite the end of the November 2024 ceasefire, Israel has not stopped attacking Lebanon, but has taken advantage of Hezbollah’s attacks to launch threats to destroy the entire country and attack in the south.

Since March 2, Israel has killed 3,151 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.

US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on April 16, extending it into early July. This has reduced attacks in Beirut and its surrounding areas, but attacks in the south have continued, killing medical professionals and ordinary people.

Every day, Israel issues new immigration laws villages and towns in the south. Hezbollah has launched attacks on Israeli targets inside Lebanon, as well as in Israel, including using fiber optic drones which cannot happen in Israel.

In a speech commemorating Independence Day on Monday, Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, said that southern Lebanon “wrote an unprecedented chapter when Israel withdrew due to the stability and commitment of the people of this country, which made May 25 a day of national honor”.

Under the leadership of Aoun, Beirut is involved direct negotiations with Israel for the first time, and despite the controversial nature of the talks, he insists that the government will not compromise on its goal of achieving “the complete withdrawal of Israel” from southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam he wrote on X that “we will not celebrate (holiday) until the day Israel completely leaves our country and returns home safely and honorably”.

Hezbollah’s response

Hezbollah has repeatedly opposed the government’s move, saying it rejects direct talks with Israel and prefers to negotiate through mediators instead.

In a televised address on Sunday, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem reiterated his rejection of direct talks: “Direct talks are better. Go back to international talks and internal solutions instead of cooperation with the United States and Israel.”

He also fueled tensions over the escalation of tensions within Lebanon, for the first time saying that the Lebanese government should step down if it cannot fulfill its obligations.

“If the government can’t protect the regime, it has to step down,” Qassem said.

Qassem’s statement drew sharp criticism from the US State Department.

Iran has said it has included a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of its conditions for an end to the war with the US and Israel. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is believed to want to continue the war, and is being encouraged by his right-wing ministers to resume airstrikes in Beirut, with drones buzzing throughout the day on Sunday and Monday.

Looking for “another success”

On Monday, after banks and offices were closed for the annual Liberation Day holiday, Israeli airstrikes killed three people in southern Lebanon and extended curfews were imposed on 10 towns and villages.

Buildings near the port city of Tire in southern Lebanon were also destroyed, along with eight other towns in the south.

“What should we do,” Hussein told Al Jazeera. He is from Qlayleh but was transferred to the school in Tyre. “There are warnings (to leave the house) all over (the area).”

Drones are said to be flying over the Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon, another area that has been under Israeli attack since a ceasefire last month.

In such circumstances, many people in Lebanon feel that this Independence Day, which is usually celebrated, comes at a difficult time in the country.

Saleh, a man from Jwaya, said he hopes to see southern Lebanon liberated, and Lebanese citizens held in Israeli prisons release.

Nabil, from Markaba, a border town that has been largely destroyed since Israel established a military base there, has been living in a school in the Ras Beirut neighborhood since March 2, but he remains hopeful and rejected.

“We are proud that it is Independence Day and that we drove Israel’s enemy out of Lebanon,” he said. “We took our territories and took everything and our house in 2000, and God willing, we will win again.”