The story delved into the views of the residents of a Catholic town about the militant movement and Israel
The Telegraph has removed an article from its website about the close ties between Hezbollah and the Christian town of Ras Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon. The story, which was accessible for just around a day, portrayed the militant movement in a positive light while mentioning local resentment of Israel.
The story was published on Monday amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive against Hezbollah that began earlier this month and has already left more than 880 people dead, over 2,000 injured, and around one million displaced.
West Jerusalem launched the campaign after Hezbollah launched waves of strikes on the Jewish state in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran.
According to the now inaccessible article, the residents of Ras Baalbek formed a strong bond with Hezbollah when the militants came to their defense against attacks by the Islamic State (IS, former ISIS) militants between 2013 and 2017. Hezbollah also reportedly aided the town with medical care during the Covid-19 pandemic, supplied electricity generators, and even Christmas trees.
“The relationship between the village and Hezbollah is stronger than with the Pope,” Rifiat Nasrallah, the head of the town with 6,000-strong Catholic population told The Telegraph, adding that the Shia Muslim movement members “protect our churches.” According to the town head, “Israel is our first enemy… Hezbollah is our friend.”
A Muslim refugee residing in the village also told journalists that Hezbollah was allegedly fighting child-eating “Epstein people,” who “are not humans.” The piece did not feature any comments by Israel, the Lebanese government or Hezbollah itself.
As of Wednesday evening, the story is not available on The Telegraph website but can still be read on various news aggregators such as Yahoo news.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced plans for the occupation of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, some 40km north of the Lebanese border with Israel. Hezbollah has called West Jerusalem’s plans an existential threat, adding that it has no choice but to fight.
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