Ali Shoeib*
Translated by Al-Manar English Website
On August 10, 2006, the story of the “Marjeyoun Survival” turned into a dark page in the history of the conflict with the Israeli enemy.
The Israeli occupation army raided Marjeyoun barracks on that day, when Lebanon was subjected to a brutal Israeli war that lasted for 33 days. The occupation forces took over the barracks without any resistance from the Lebanese troops and security forces who laid their arms.
It was agreed that the town, which is 8 km away from the border with occupied Palestine, would be safely evacuated, and that the Israeli enemy would not attack the convoy, as stipulated by the guarantees presented via the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
These guarantees, brokered by the United States and France, were allegedly intended to remove the Lebanese forces who were detained at the barracks, along with stranded civilians, from the danger zone. But what happened was a resounding shock!
للعبرة فقط :
في عدوان 2006 احتل العدو ثكنة مرجعيون سلّم 350 من الجيش وقوى الأمن سلاحهم بضمانات دولية للانسحاب الآمن نحو البقاع الغربي ،
الطائرات المسيرة الإسرائيلية لاحقت الموكب المؤلف من نحو 1000 سيارة ، وقصفته بالصواريخ ، فسقط 6 شهداء وأكثر من 40 جريحًا من عسكريين ومدنيين pic.twitter.com/B5qvPKpaAN— علي شعيب || 🇱🇧 Ali choeib (@cheib1970) August 9, 2025
The convoy had set out on August 11 (2006). It was escorted by two UNIFIL vehicles.
Instead of escaping, Israeli enemy aircraft pursued the convoy of approximately 759 vehicles after it reached the Western Bekaa Valley, brutally targeting them and turning their path into a massacre.
The attack, which was conducted with nine bombs, resulted in the deaths of at least seven people, wounding of at least 36 and the destruction of a number of vehicles.
That attack in 2006 was a harsh lesson that says it all about the conflict with an enemy that does not abide by any covenant or pact, as the false US-French guarantees given to the Lebanese government at the time were merely an illusion and a deception.
The Marjeyoun convoy attack confirms a solid fact: The enemy cannot be trusted, and all international guarantees or regional promises aimed at disarming the resistance are merely a temporary cover for achieving the enemy’s goals, which seeks nothing but a moment of weakness that will enable it to achieve what it has been unable to achieve during the latest war in late 2024.
Our history is replete with examples that show that surrendering power is an open invitation to aggression. When the resistance is disarmed, the homeland is left exposed to the enemy’s ambitions.
Weapons are not just a combat tool, but rather a “symbol of the national will to defend the homeland and protect the sovereignty,” and resistance is the last line of defense.
The Marjeyoun convoy attack has proven that relying on international promises, in the absence of a real deterrent force, is a bet on defeat. Anyone who places their security in the hands of the enemy is willingly committing suicide, and we do not want to commit suicide.
*Ali Shoeib is Al-Manar’s veteran correspondent in south Lebanon.
Source: Al-Manar
