Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described Israel’s actions in Lebanon as “genocide crimes” and said Lebanon would preserve its right to pursue legal action over those crimes.
In a speech on Monday, Berri said the struggle against Israel should continue on the basis of national unity, free from sectarian calculations. He said Israel’s target was not Hezbollah, its weapons, the Amal Movement or the Shiite community, but Lebanon itself, along with the country’s unity and internal peace.
Objection to the Lebanon-Israel talks
The Lebanese Parliament speaker said they opposed beginning direct negotiations with Israel under fire and had not accepted the framework agreement prepared in June.
Berri argued that after seven rounds of talks, the occupied areas had expanded, destruction had increased and the number of people killed had risen. He also rejected any initiative aimed at waiving the right to file a lawsuit against Israel over “genocide crimes.”
The eighth round of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel is expected to take place in Italy in September. The seventh round ended on August 6 without an agreement on expanding the areas from which Israeli forces would withdraw.
The June 26 framework agreement prepared under U.S. mediation provides for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in those areas. Subsequent negotiations addressed mechanisms for implementing the agreement and completing the withdrawal.
Humanitarian toll in southern Lebanon
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 4,000 people have been killed, more than 12,000 injured and more than 1 million displaced in Israel’s military operations, which have continued since March 2.
Israeli forces continue to maintain a presence in parts of southern Lebanon. Some of these areas have been under occupation for many years, while others have been occupied since the 2023-2024 war, and Israel further expanded its presence on Lebanese territory during its latest military operation.
The 48th anniversary of Musa al-Sadr’s disappearance
Berri made the remarks in a speech marking the 48th anniversary of the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric and Amal Movement founder Musa al-Sadr. Al-Sadr disappeared in 1978 during a visit to Libya along with two aides, and his fate has never been clarified.
Lebanon’s Shiite community holds Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi responsible for the disappearance of al-Sadr, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, who vanished alongside him. The former Libyan administration denied the accusation and maintained that the three men had traveled to Italy.
