Khaberni - A "cartoon" video presented by the Lebanese channel "LBCI" has caused widespread controversy in political and popular circles, after it depicted the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, and the party's fighters in a frame inspired by the popular video game "Angry Birds" during their confrontation with the Israeli army.
The clip shows "Qassem" as a leader directing his fighters on the battlefield, emphasizing "no surrender" in front of the Israeli soldiers who appeared in the video as "pigs" (the game's characters hostile to the birds), and the scene included bombing of Israeli helicopters and drones chasing fighters from the party who took refuge in a pit.
Immediately after the clip was shared, Hezbollah supporters launched a counter-campaign on social media, which included altered images featuring the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi -the country's highest Christian religious authority- some showing him in the form of a rabbi next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, considering this a response to the offense to their "symbols".
In turn, Hezbollah described the video in an official statement as "insulting," considering it includes "cheap slurs that degrade political expression to a disgusting level," and called on its supporters to rise above being dragged behind the objectives of the "enemies of resistance," as stated by the party's MP Ibrahim Al Moussawi who remarked that the channel broadcast "provocative and inciting" content that targets a religious and national symbol.
Official condemnation
Against the backdrop of this tension, the three presidencies in Lebanon stepped in to curb the sectarian escalation, as the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri condemned "the campaigns of offense and disparagement against religious and national symbols from any side," warning against slipping into "strife" sought by the common enemy, and calling for immediate judicial action to hold the responsible accountable.
In his role, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged citizens to renounce "hate speech," bullying, and accusations, emphasizing that these practices charge spirits and incite tribalism at a time when the country is going through critical circumstances.
President Michel Aoun also stated that targeting spiritual figures is condemnable and unacceptable, calling for conflicts to be kept strictly within the political realm.
These skirmishes occur at a time when the country is engaged in an ongoing war with Israel, which has resulted in the death of more than 2600 people and the displacement of approximately 1.6 million others.
Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the war between 2023 and 2024, and it has advanced about 10 kilometers inside the southern border during the current aggression.
