On June 17, Mohammad Abdel Salam Nasrallah was carrying out his daily ritual in his hometown Houla, South Lebanon: caring for his bees and the land that had long been his companion.

Thomas Barrack is no Amos Hochstein, Morgan Ortagus, or even Philip Habib,though he channels aspects of all three, in their purpose and their mission. With Lebanese roots, he offers a regional familiarity that Washington hopes will help defuse tensions.

The latest wave of incitement against the resistance and its support base must be understood within the broader context of the recent Israeli war on Lebanon, and all efforts to exploit its outcomes.

From Kfarshouba to Tyre, glowing missile trails, documented in dozens of videos, were met with applause, gunfire, and fireworks, moments that lifted the morale of an audience long steeped in frustration. Yet beneath this brief joy, anxiety still lingers.