Lebanon had 'no say in the decision to go to war,' foreign minister says

Lebanon's overseas curate connected Thursday defended Hezbollah's beingness successful the region, but said his state had "no accidental successful the determination to spell to war" with Israel.

Speaking to CNBC's Dan Murphy, Abdallah Bou Habib vowed to uphold a U.S.-France brokered cease-fire that is already showing signs of strain, and said helium volition question overseas backing to assistance successful the reconstruction of Lebanon.

"We enactment Hezbollah, but we don't enactment the warfare arsenic Lebanese, and the authorities had nary accidental successful the determination to spell to war, we person to admit that," helium said.

Hezbollah, which operates arsenic some a governmental enactment and a paramilitary group, has been accused of dragging Lebanon, a state of implicit 5 million, into a warfare it did not privation to combat with Israel. The Iran-backed militia, which holds 13 seats officially but has a wider confederation that makes up 62 seats successful Lebanon's 128-member parliament, besides controls overmuch of Lebanon's borders and its airport.

"Iran has power done Hezbollah connected Lebanon," Bou Habib told CNBC, "but Hezbollah does not tally Lebanon" helium added. "This authorities is not nether the power of Iran, Iran has allies successful Lebanon, nary uncertainty astir that." 

Hezbollah "will implement" the cease-fire statement "faithfully," Bou Habib, said aft the French and American-brokered deal, which took effect Wednesday, allowed displaced Israelis and Lebanese to instrumentality location aft 14 months of aggravated conflict. 

Both Israel and Hezbollah person accused each different of breaching the cease-fire statement little than 48 hours aft it was agreed.

Lebanon is "ready, consenting and determined" to instrumentality UN solution 1701, Bou Habib said, which aims to guarantee Israeli withdrawal from the southbound and determination Hezbollah northbound of the Litani River. The area, nether 1701, would autumn nether Lebanese Armed Forces power and a U.N. peacekeeping force. Under the existent cease-fire agreement, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and Hezbollah from confederate Lebanon would hap gradually implicit the adjacent 60 days, which U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein told CNBC connected Wednesday helium hopes volition go permanent.

The Lebanese Cabinet besides reaffirmed their committedness to 1701, which, nether erstwhile UN Security Council resolutions, calls for the "disarmament of each equipped groups successful Lebanon," including Hezbollah.

The overseas curate caveated this connection by saying that "as agelong arsenic we person occupied land, it is not difficult, astir apt impossible, not to person resistance, and I mean subject resistance. So we person got to hole our borders with Israel. We person got to hole them erstwhile and for good." 

Lebanese governmental expert Ronnie Chatah told CNBC, "the concern the overseas curate is referring to is the Shebaa farms. This disputed, constricted portion that Syria considers Lebanese and that Israel considers occupied, oregon present annexed. Golan Heights, Lebanon, of course, backmost then, took the Syrian line. This is not a raison d'etre, to person the largest paramilitary unit connected the planet."

The state has been successful governmental deadlock agelong earlier the warfare began. Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun near the station successful 2022, and the existent authorities exists successful a caretaker format.

Lebanon's governmental strategy is held unneurotic by a sectarian power-sharing agreement, guaranteeing the practice of the country's divers spiritual groups, but has often been blamed for contributing to its deadlock.

"I'm not claiming that this authorities has the spot of each Lebanese, but it has the spot of astir Lebanese," Bou Habib told CNBC. 

The World Bank estimates a full of $8.5 cardinal successful damages to the Lebanese economy, resulting from the struggle which includes carnal harm and economical loss.

Lebanon's Economy Minister Amin Salam told CNBC earlier this period the costs could beryllium overmuch greater, and would basal astatine astir $20 cardinal successful accumulated losses to not lone the economy, but infrastructure and employment losses.

The World Bank besides estimates the existent struggle could "cut Lebanon's existent GDP maturation by astatine slightest 6.6% successful 2024." Salam added that the country's embattled system could declaration by arsenic overmuch arsenic 8% to 12% wrong the adjacent year.  

"The backing challenges for rebuilding efforts successful Lebanon are immense and urgent," Mercy Corps Country Director for Lebanon, Laila Al Amine, told CNBC.

"The struggle has caused extended harm to roads, h2o facilities, schools, hospitals, and powerfulness plants, requiring important resources, skilled labor, and clip for reconstruction. Funding remains a captious hurdle, arsenic overmuch of the pledged humanitarian assistance has yet to beryllium disbursed," Al Amine added.

Bou Habib told CNBC: "We are receiving humanitarian assistance from each Gulf Countries."

"We did not commencement discussions connected further assistance regarding reconstruction and rebuilding of infrastructure successful Lebanon, we'll beryllium doing that soon and we volition spot what happens," helium added, connected further fiscal aid.

Gulf Arab states helped rebuild Lebanon aft the 2006 war, but years of economical diminution and an emboldened Hezbollah could present deter the planetary assemblage and specifically the Middle East from helping with Lebanon's costly reconstruction.