“Hraparak” (Hraparak.am) had conducted an interview with Sevag Hagopian, editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Lebanese daily “Zartonk”.
– Yesterday, Israel carried out air strikes on Beirut, having previously advised the residents of the Lebanese capital to evacuate. What is happening in Beirut now, were the strikes exclusively on Hezbollah targets?
– Yes, it is a pity that yesterday afternoon the Israeli air force hit a residential building in the area called Hathas, near the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli army, in its characteristic style for such moments, warned the residents of the targeted neighborhood shortly before the attack. Israel intends to show the world in this style that it is supposedly concerned of the lives of citizens, but it overlooks the fact that such so-called warnings are made just minutes before the attack, while not every citizen of Lebanon follows the Israeli army’s X platform, through which the «warnings» are published. With such attacks, the enemy country violates every border and agreement with Lebanon in broad daylight. Since the so-called ceasefire signed between the Lebanese side and Israel, yesterday was the first Israeli attack on the capital Beirut since November 27, 2024. Since then, Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire but has limited its attacks to southern Lebanon.
– Is there any information about human losses?
– Yes, there is. So far, 7 victims have been announced, but considering the complete collapse of the building, it can be assumed that the number of victims will increase in the coming hours.
– And what is the situation in the Armenian-populated neighborhoods?
– Let me remind you that throughout the entire period of the recent Israeli war against Lebanon, the Israeli army was especially targeting neighborhoods populated by the Shiite community, the Hezbollah-supporting mass, where Christians and especially Armenians do not live. It is not excluded that non-Shiites may suffer due to the fact that they might be passing from there by chance. Therefore, Armenian neighborhoods are currently safe from direct targeting.
– French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first to respond to the Israeli airstrikes. He strongly condemned it, considering it a unilateral and unjustified violation of the ceasefire.
– My experience of living in the region suggests that an influential country such like France that does not have the intention to send practical assistance publishes condemning statements, including «supportive statements.» The same applies to the fact that if it does not have the intention to send an army to save the targeted people, it sends delegations instead. So much for the so-called international community’s support farce. Artsakh is a witness to this…
– In addition, Macron called on Israel to withdraw its troops from five Lebanese regions and recalled France’s proposal to deploy UN peacekeepers in those areas. Will Tel Aviv heed this call?
– I don’t think that the aforementioned call is worth anything in its practical terms. In any case, regardless of Macron’s call, the UN-flagged peacekeeping mission UNIFIL has been operating in southern Lebanon, on the Lebanon-Israel border, for years. Up to now, this «peacekeeping» has been limited to the work of a «secretary» to record Israeli violations.
– Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who is currently in Paris, also condemned the Israeli airstrikes on Beirut during his meeting with Macron, describing them as a continuation of the ceasefire agreement violation. And don’t the Lebanese have any demands addressed to him?
– President Aoun did well. Good for him, but we must also remember that the latest Israeli attack was a response to the bombs fired from Lebanese territory into Israel. Whether the said bombs were fired by anti-Israeli groups or by agents serving Israeli interests, ultimately it is the duty of the Lebanese state, whose president is Joseph Aoun, to prevent such incidents by arresting and appropriately punishing all violators of the law, those who further incite the war atmosphere.
– The Trump administration, as in the case of the new military operations launched in Gaza, also supported Israel in the attacks on Beirut. According to Morgan Ortagus, the US Deputy Special Representative for the Middle East, Israel has the right to retaliate. She noted that Lebanon cannot be compared to Gaza, since the war there was instigated by Iran and Hezbollah.
– I do not want to talk about this for long, especially when it comes to the «double standards» approach. I think everything is obvious regardless of all other circumstances. What has been happening in the region for years is «a widespread televised genocide and a crime against humanity,» to which the whole world is a silent spectator today.
A translation from the interview published in Armenian: https://hraparak.am/post/b600dc6e801c90283e97af4e0cd1337f
