Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Thursday defended Hezbollah's presence in the region but said his country had "no say in the decision to go to war with Israel."

Despite signs of tension after the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Habib vowed to preserve the agreement and said he would seek foreign funds to help Lebanon rebuild.

"We support Hezbollah, but as Lebanese we do not support this war," he said. "The government had no say in the decision to go to war and we have to acknowledge that."

Hezbollah operates as a political group and paramilitary organization. The Iran-backed militia officially holds 13 seats, while its broader coalition holds 62 seats in Lebanon's 128-member parliament, and controls most of Lebanon's borders and airports.

"Iran has influence in Lebanon through Hezbollah, but Hezbollah does not rule Lebanon," Habib said, adding that "this government is not influenced by Iran and Iran does have allies in Lebanon, there is no doubt about that."

Habib said Hezbollah would "faithfully" implement the ceasefire, which came into effect on Wednesday and allows displaced Israelis and Lebanese to return home after 14 months of intense conflict.

Both Israel and Hezbollah accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement less than 48 hours after it was reached.

Habib said Lebanon was "ready, willing and determined" to implement UN Resolution 1701, which aims to ensure Israel's withdrawal from the south and move Hezbollah north of the Litani River. Under Resolution 1701, this area would be controlled by the Lebanese Armed Forces and supervised by UN peacekeepers.

Under the current ceasefire, Israeli troops and Hezbollah will gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days, and U.S. envoy Stephen Hochstein said on Wednesday he hoped it would become a permanent arrangement.

The Lebanese cabinet also reaffirmed their commitment to Resolution 1701, which, based on previous UN Security Council resolutions, calls for the "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon," including Hezbollah.

The foreign minister qualified the statement, saying "as long as we have occupied land, it will be difficult, even impossible, not to resist militarily. So we have to resolve border issues with Israel. We have to resolve them once and for all."

Political deadlock

Lebanon was already in a political deadlock long before the Israeli-Lebanese conflict began. Since Michel Aoun left office in 2022, Lebanon has been without a president and the current government exists in the form of an interim government.

Lebanon's political system is held together by a sectarian power-sharing agreement that guarantees representation for the country's different religious groups but is often blamed for the deadlock.

“I don’t claim that this government has the trust of all Lebanese, but it has the trust of the majority of Lebanese,” Habib said.

Rebuilding Lebanon

The World Bank estimates that the total cost of the conflict to the Lebanese economy was $8.5 billion, including both material and economic losses.

Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam said earlier this month that the actual losses could be much greater, with Lebanon suffering not only economic losses, but also infrastructure and job losses totaling about $20 billion.

The World Bank also estimated that the current conflict could "reduce Lebanon's real GDP growth by at least 6.6% in 2024." Salam added that the country's troubled economy could contract by 8% to 12% next year.

"We are receiving humanitarian aid from all Gulf countries. We have not yet started discussions on further aid for the reconstruction of Lebanon's infrastructure, but we will do so soon," Habib said.

Article forwarded from: Jinshi Data