After insistent urges from the international community, Israel lifted the air, sea and land blockade on Lebanon on September 7. The docks undestroyed by warfare returned to business. For each day of the blockade, Lebanon lost $30 million, the Lebanese government said. But while Lebanese society shows resilience and willingness to stand on its feet, many think the 34-day war has resulted in wider support for radical Muslim organisations that falls short of something of a Hezbollah rejuvenation.

Hopes lie in the seemingly moderate stance Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has assumed since the end of hostilities, and the way the remainder of the Lebanese government would cash in this chance to now bring Hezbollah out on a more constructive presence in government. The latter would also largely depend on how the new Fatah-Hamas Palestinian unity government functions from now on and the ways in which UK prime minister Tony Blair and UN secretary general Kofi Annan use their last days in office. Both have set out on a mission to solve Middle East problems in what Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora called a very brief window of opportunity to do so. Blair has a year to succeed, and Annan has until the end of 2006, when his term expires.