Lebanese Interior Minister Says State Will Reassert Authority Across the South

Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said Friday that the state would return to all parts of southern Lebanon and reassert its authority there.

“The south is at the heart of the state,” al-Hajjar said, stressing the region’s place within Lebanon.

His pledge covered the entirety of the south, with the minister affirming that the state’s return would extend across the region.

The remarks presented that return as a commitment still to be fulfilled, rather than an announcement that full state authority had already been restored.