From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Reports: US envoy cancels visits to south Lebanon amid protests over ‘animalistic’ journalists comment
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
Lebanese media reports that US regional envoy Tom Barrack canceled several visits he was scheduled to make today in the Tyre area of southern Lebanon, amid protests against a comment he made yesterday about journalists’ “animalistic” behavior.
Some demonstrators waved Hezbollah flags, while others held signs reading “The United States – Mother of Terror.”
Protesters also chalked slogans and a blue Star of David on the ground in Khiam.
The protests came in the wake of remarks Barrack made yesterday during a press conference, when he scolded journalists and said that if their behavior became “animalistic” and they did not “act civilized,” he would leave.
His comments sparked outrage, and Lebanon’s presidential office later issued an apology.
Barrack’s office has so far not commented on the incident.
مراسلة «#الأخبار»: نفّذ عددٌ من المواطنين وقفة أمام سراي #صور احتجاجاً على الزيارة التي كانت مقررة إلى المدينة للمبعوث الأميركي #توم_برّاك#توم_باراك#لبنان pic.twitter.com/vscpmGBRtp
— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) August 27, 2025
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