Speaking at the municipal building in Nabatieh during a visit to the southern city, Salam said the government was working with international institutions to secure funding for recovery and reconstruction projects.
“Since then, we have worked, within the government and with international institutions, to secure the resources needed to launch the recovery and reconstruction process,” Salam said, referring to earlier government efforts to secure initial funding.
“I return today to Nabatieh to affirm one constant: our commitment to the people of the south and Nabatieh has not and will not change.”
Salam said visits by ministers and senior officials to Nabatieh and other parts of southern Lebanon were intended to assess needs on the ground, determine what the state could accomplish with existing resources and identify projects requiring additional funding.
He said the needs of the south had also been raised during his meetings in New York and Washington with the United Nations secretary-general, U.S. officials and the president of the World Bank.
Salam said restoring government institutions in Nabatieh was an essential part of bringing normal life back to the city.
“The return of state institutions to work is an essential part of restoring life to this beloved city,” he said, adding that they would serve residents and help support their ability to remain on their land.
He acknowledged that the projects being launched were limited compared with the scale of the needs. “We do not claim otherwise,” Salam said.
He announced the reopening of several public and security facilities following rehabilitation work, including the Nabatieh government administrative building, the State Security centre, the civil registry office and a General Security centre. He said the Palace of Justice would reopen soon.
The Council for Development and Reconstruction has also launched 23 tenders in the Nabatieh district covering projects including debris and obstruction removal, road repairs and rehabilitation of shelters, as well as the provision of ambulances, medical equipment and communications systems.
Salam said a further 12 tenders were expected to be launched during the month, including the rehabilitation of five hospitals, among them Nabatieh Governmental Hospital.
Additional projects include the supply of rescue and firefighting vehicles and work to rehabilitate electricity substations and water networks. The Council of the South is also due to begin construction of a new civil defence headquarters after completing damage assessments and debris removal, Salam said.
Salam was accompanied by ministers, security commanders and senior officials during the visit, which he said underscored the government's commitment to strengthening state security institutions.
“We want to tell their officers and personnel that we stand by them, just as we ask them to remain alongside the people,” he said after beginning the visit at the Nabatieh gendarmerie company in Kfarjouz.
The prime minister said the visit was not limited to opening completed projects or announcing new ones, but was intended to demonstrate the government's continued commitment to recovery and reconstruction.
He also acknowledged the scale of the hardship facing residents of the south, including people who had lost homes, jobs and sources of income.
“I know the scale of the crisis,” Salam said. “I know your exhaustion and understand the suffering of those who lost their homes, those who lost their jobs or livelihoods, and those waiting to repair their homes, return to their towns and rebuild their lives.”
But he said Lebanon's government did not have the financial capacity to shoulder the reconstruction burden alone.
“I am not here to sell you illusions, nor to promise you what I cannot deliver,” Salam said. “We still need substantial funding. But I want you to trust that we are working, and will continue working, to secure everything we can to help revive the south.”
Salam said the priorities of residents in the south included ending Israeli attacks, a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, the safe and dignified return of residents to their homes and the restoration of livelihoods.
“I want you to know that your priorities will remain our priorities,” he said.
Salam acknowledged that some residents might have a different political approach from his own, but said he would maintain the same position regardless of where he was speaking.
He said Lebanon's path forward required pursuing two objectives simultaneously: mobilising international and domestic support for a full Israeli withdrawal and rebuilding the Lebanese state.
“The state must be capable and effective, one state for all its citizens, with one army and one decision, particularly on war and peace,” Salam said.
He said this was necessary to prevent Lebanon from facing another war or new justifications for attacks and further
occupation.
Salam also rejected the idea that Lebanon should simply wait for a major regional political settlement.
“To say that we can wait for a major regional settlement is, for me, not an option for Lebanon,” he said. “That settlement may come or may not come, or it may take years. And if it happens, it could be at our expense.”
He questioned whether Lebanon should remain displaced and its territory occupied while waiting for decisions made by others.
“Certainly, no reasonable person can accept that,” he said.
Salam concluded by calling on Lebanese citizens to rally around state institutions.
“Let us all unite under the flag of our state,” he said. “It grows stronger through our unity, and we grow stronger through it. It is our first and last refuge. It alone is the guarantee of our security, stability and the future of our children.”