Last week, my esteemed colleague Hiba Nasr, an Asharq News correspondent in Washington, wrote a post on X that reflected palpable anguish about the receding shadow of the Lebanese state in her village in southern Lebanon after the army’s withdrawal in the face of a new Israeli assault. Hiba wrote about her tranquil village, nestled in the Wadi Al-Taym valley and sheltered by the majesty of Mount Hermon, despairing at how the state, after having given residents the impression that they could again have hope and dream, was abandoning them.