Lebanon demands discussions with Israel over a strategy to resolve the Hezbollah crisis.
Lebanon demands discussions with Israel over a strategy to resolve the Hezbollah crisis.
Over the past week, Israel has regularly attacked Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
As part of a plan to put a stop to the intensifying confrontation with Hezbollah, the president of Lebanon has called for direct talks with Israel while harshly denouncing the Iran-backed organization for dragging the nation into a larger regional conflict.
Lebanon was prepared to engage in negotiations, but not while the nation was still under Israeli assault, a representative for President Joseph Aoun told the BBC.
Aoun presented what he called a route towards "permanent security and stability arrangements on our borders" during a virtual conference with top EU officials on Monday.
Negotiations have not received much support from Israeli leaders, and the government refrained from commenting right away.
The disarmament of Hezbollah and foreign support for the Lebanese Armed Forces to help them recover control of "areas of tension" would accompany a "full truce" under the four-point plan put forth by the Lebanese president.In order to carry out the aforementioned strategy, Lebanon and Israel [will] concurrently start direct talks under international sponsorship, according to a statement.
According to Aoun, the war has devastated Lebanon, with hundreds of civilians dead in Israeli bombings over the last nine days and over 700,000 displaced, including 200,000 children, according to the United Nations.There are a few of them on the roads. They lack even the most basic essentials of existence, including a place to live," he stated.
Additionally, the president criticized Hezbollah in an unusually direct manner, accusing the Shia Muslim political movement and militia of working against Lebanon's national interests.
Hezbollah was described by Aoun as a "armed faction" that desired the "collapse of the Lebanese state under violence and anarchy" and gave "no weight to Lebanon's interests or to the lives of its people".
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| The majority of the rockets and drones that Hezbollah has fired into Israel have been intercepted. The comments come after the government declared last week that Hezbollah's military activities were unlawful, despite the fact that the state is presently unable to disarm the group independently. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, wrote to the Lebanese government on X last week, saying, "It is your responsibility to enforce the ceasefire agreement and it is your job to disarm Hezbollah." Israel's envoy to France, Joshua Zarka, stated on Tuesday that Beirut has not made significant progress in disarming the organization.I do not know of any decision to start talks to end this war at this point," he stated. "Hezbollah's disarming is what would end it, and that is an option for the Lebanese government." Despite being mediated by the US and France, a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was reached in November 2024, but it has mainly fallen through. Israel has been carrying out strikes in Lebanon almost every day, claiming that Hezbollah is attempting to rearm and reestablish its presence. Hezbollah entered the fight by launching several missiles and drones into northern Israel two days after the joint US-Israeli strike on Iran began. The gang claimed to be taking revenge for the ongoing Israeli strikes and the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, according to Aoun, it was a planned ambush intended to lure the Israeli military into another invasion of Lebanon and its army.  Approximately 700,000 individuals, including 200,000 children, have been compelled to leave Lebanon. Israel said that the attack by Hezbollah warranted the start of a more extensive campaign against the organization, which included frequent airstrikes and commando raids within Lebanese territory. According to the statement, the campaign will go on until Hezbollah is disarmed. Hezbollah has declared that it will keep attacking Israel at any costs. The Lebanese health ministry reports that since then, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 486 people. The Israeli military reports that two Israeli troops were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon. The increase has rekindled concern for families caught in the crossfire. When missiles struck close by in the middle of the night, Ahmed al-Halabi, a father of two from the Dahieh neighborhood in south Beirut, fled with his extended family. "We were fleeing the bombing! He told the BBC, "There is no safety." "The living conditions were already poor, and I have little children. You have no idea what it is like to be at war. All I want is to protect my children." Ahmed currently resides in a school that has been converted into a refuge in the heart of the metropolis.My children have suffered psychological damage after experiencing this for the second time. Adults are able to cope with this. The children are unable to. |
