Subdued Lebanon Liberation Day celebrations under new Israeli occupation

Beirut, Lebanon – On May 25, 2000, the last Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon ending their 18-year occupation. This expulsion of Israeli forces by an armed movement led by Hezbollah has been a cause of national celebration in Lebanon ever since, but this year, a new occupation in the south has dampened the mood. “Liberation Day is a sacred day for us,” Ali Saleh, 55, from Jwaya in southern Lebanon told Al Jazeera.

“It is a holiday of victory, pride and dignity.” Saleh said he would spend this Liberation Day at the Camille Chamoun Stadium on the southern periphery of Beirut, where he has lived with his wife and son after being displaced in March, when Israeli forces again invaded the south. He is one of more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon who have been displaced from their homes, predominantly from south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, since then. In the past two years, Lebanon has been invaded twice by Israel. In early 2025, more than two months after a ceasefire was agreed, the Israeli military withdrew from all but five points in south Lebanon. This time, however, many Lebanese fear history is repeating itself, and that a protracted Israeli occupation of the the country has started again. “He who didn’t live in southern Lebanon before 2000 didn’t know what it means to live under occupation,” Saleh said. “Liberation Day broke our shackles, freed the precious land, freed the plants, freed the butterflies, the birds, every grain of dust. It freed everything.” During the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), Israel twice invaded the country – in 1978 and 1982 – to eject the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) from the country. Israeli forces reached as far as Beirut in 1982, forcing PLO fighters from Lebanon. But the Israelis continued to occupy large parts of southern Lebanon, until they were driven out in 2000, following a persistent campaign by Hezbollah. The recent Israeli invasion brought back memories of those years of occupation for southerners. “There is a pain in my heart because this holiday is not complete,” Saleh said.

Key points

• “It is a holiday of victory, pride and dignity.” Saleh said he would spend this Liberation Day at the Camille Chamoun Stadium on the southern periphery of Beirut, where he has lived with his wife a…
• He is one of more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon who have been displaced from their homes, predominantly from south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, since then.
• In the past two years, Lebanon has been invaded twice by Israel.
• In early 2025, more than two months after a ceasefire was agreed, the Israeli military withdrew from all but five points in south Lebanon.
• This time, however, many Lebanese fear history is repeating itself, and that a protracted Israeli occupation of the the country has started again.