Angry Birds cartoon video about Hezbollah sparks anger in Lebanon

ALBAWABA - During the past few days, the Lebanese street has been in outrage, and many protested following the release of a cartoon video by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) mocking the Hezbollah group.

The Lebanese channel LBCI aired a video showing Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and fighters from the party as cartoon characters inspired by the famous game "Angry Birds," in the context of the Israeli war, sparking widespread controversy in Lebanon as the party believed it was "offensive".

The video, released Friday and titled "Between Anger and Deceit, the Conflict Ignites," depicts Qassem as a commander addressing his fighters on the battlefield. The characters are portrayed in a cartoonish style inspired by the game, with the Hezbollah leader emphasizing "no surrender" in the face of Israeli soldiers, who are depicted as pigs. 

The clip includes scenes of Israeli helicopters bombing houses where Hezbollah fighters had taken shelter, before a drone pursues three of them who had taken refuge in a hole.

Following the circulation of the video, tensions escalated on social media platforms in Lebanon, where Hezbollah supporters posted offensive images of Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi, in what they considered a response to the attack on their "symbols," referring to Naim Qassem. One of the images was captioned: "Before our holy figures and our sheikh, all other holy figures fall."

The campaign against al-Rahi, considered the highest Christian religious authority in Lebanon, sparked widespread condemnation in political and religious circles.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks on religious figures on Saturday, saying that "attacking the heads of Christian and Islamic sects and spiritual figures in Lebanon is a reprehensible and unacceptable act."

LBCI group deleted the clip after it caused huge anger among the supporters of the Iranian-backed group in the country.