Aoun says no one can bear another war in Lebanon
President Joseph Aoun on Monday called on the Lebanese to 'unify efforts and act objectively and responsible to keep Lebanon away from the conflict around us,' referring to the latest sectarian bloodshed in neighboring Syria.
He added that his objective is to 'ensure the country's safety and not risk the eruption of a war, seeing as no one has the ability to bear it.'
'This is a chance to protect Lebanon, in the vein of what happened during the war between Israel and Iran, when we exerted efforts to keep Lebanon away from this war,' the president said.
'Foreign nations have lauded the taken decision to monopolize arms in the hand of the state,' Aoun added.
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Nahar Net
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Three killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
Three killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon The Health Ministry said three people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south on Saturday despite a ceasefire, as the Israeli military said one of them targeted a Hezbollah militant. "The Israeli enemy drone strike that targeted a vehicle" in Tyre district "killed one person," a ministry statement said. The Israeli military said that it "struck and eliminated" a Hezbollah commander who was "involved in efforts to rehabilitate the ... organization in the area of Bint Jbeil," near the border. It did not specify where the strike took place. The Lebanese health ministry later reported that another Israeli strike in Tyre district, on the town of Debaal, killed two people. The state-run National News Agency reported that it targeted a house. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment about the reported strike in Debaal. Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war. It has warned it will continue to strike until the Iran-backed militant group has been disarmed. Under the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon but has kept them in five areas it deems strategic.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Seperate arms smuggling attempts, foiled along the Lebanese-Syrian border.
BEIRUT — The fight against arms trafficking continues on both sides of the particularly porous border between Syria and Lebanon. France has recently reiterated its willingness to "support cooperation between Beirut and Damascus in controlling their shared border," several operations have been carried out — both on Syrian and Lebanese territory — against arms smuggling. On Saturday night, the Syrian News Channel al-Ekhbaria reported, citing a Syrian security source, that internal security forces in the Nabek area of rural Damascus seized a shipment of weapons that was intended to be smuggled into Lebanon. Meanwhile, Lebanon's State Security announced on Sunday that it arrested a person wanted for trafficking in military weapons. "In implementation of plans aimed at curbing arms trafficking, (...) a patrol (...) arrested a Lebanese national [M. T.] who is wanted under several judicial warrants for trafficking in military weapons, shooting, throwing hand grenades, and theft", the State Security statement reads. "A search of his home yielded military equipment, wireless devices, a large quantity of hashish, and counterfeit U.S. $100 bills", the statement adds. The Lebanese Army has been heavily deployed at the border between the two countries after the fall of the regime, in an attempt to address issues related to the border's porosity, in the fight against smuggling and trafficking on Lebanon's northern and eastern borders. With the fall of Assad regime, Hezbollah lost one of its arms importation routes from Iran, which used to pass through Syria. Army units, supported by patrols from the Intelligence Directorate, raided the homes of wanted individuals in the towns of Khodr (Baalbek) and Sheikh Ayash (Akkar), arresting citizens (A.H.) and ( for multiple crimes including kidnapping, arms trafficking, and shooting. A quantity of weapons, ammunition, and military gear was seized in their possession. In a separate operation in Hay El Sellom, Beirut's southern suburbs, an Intelligence Directorate patrol arrested Syrian national (M.J.) and Lebanese citizens (H.H.) and (N.H.) for drug use, drug dealing, and shooting. Weapons and ammunition were also found in their possession. The confiscated items were handed over, and investigations are underway under the supervision of the competent judiciary.
L'Orient-Le Jour
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Joumblatt: Hezbollah must understand its missiles are now useless
BEIRUT — The Druze leader and former president of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Joumblatt, spoke in favor of withdrawing heavy weapons from Hezbollah's arsenal on Saturday in an interview with the Saudi channel al-Arabiya. "Hezbollah officials must understand that keeping heavy weapons and missiles serves no purpose. It's no longer useful, on the contrary, it will cause us problems and Lebanon will not stabilize. (...) It will cause us, and them [Hezbollah,] complete destruction," said the Druze leader, when asked about his position on the Shiite party's arsenal. Hezbollah disarmament has been at the center of Lebanese and international political negotiations since the cease-fire that ended two months of all-out war with Israel took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. No weapons outside those of the state "I return to the idea of resistance," he added. "That does not detract from my historical condemnation of Western and Zionist Israeli occupation of Palestine but, at the very least, that's my position for Lebanon. Of course, this must come with the implementation of international decisions, among them the withdrawal of the Israeli army from occupied territories in Lebanon," he said, before reaffirming his support for the idea of a monopoly on weapons held by the state, as the PSP officially handed over its weapons at the end of June, hoping Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in Lebanon would do the same. "We have reached an agreement with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to implement all international decisions: there should not be a single weapon outside those of the state. This work has started in South Lebanon, but at the same time, Israeli bombings and killings have not stopped," he emphasized. Asked about the "support war," whose front Hezbollah opened on Oct. 8, 2023 in solidarity with the Gaza Strip and the Hamas movement, Joumblatt again revisited his earlier stance in favor of an "equilibrium of terror" that Hezbollah's arsenal imposed on Israel, according to him and the pro-Iranian party's supporters. "At that time, I thought the [Hezbollah] military arsenal and missiles could hinder and deter Israel, but perhaps that was a mistake. Things have changed since the 2006 war," he conceded. No disarmament by force The Druze leader finally said that this process should not, however, be carried out "by force," at risk of causing internal security disturbances. "Deep down, I do not believe in the outcome of Lebanese political arrangements, but it is not possible to disarm Hezbollah by force. I have said it: these heavy missiles are no longer of any use, but there must be international support for the Lebanese army. Up until now, we have seen a bit of support, but it is timid," he concluded. Once an objective ally of Hezbollah, Joumblatt has since the end of the last war become one of its internal opponents. He has notably held rare one-on-one discussions with the leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) Christian party, Samir Geagea, who is strongly hostile towards Hezbollah. These statements come as the United States, through its special envoy for Lebanon and Syria, Tom Barrack, is calling for the development of a clear roadmap for Hezbollah's disarmament, including a timeline and enforcement mechanisms. "The credibility of the Lebanese government rests on its ability to put these principles into practice," the American diplomat said Saturday on X. "As its leaders have repeatedly said, it is crucial that the state has a monopoly on weapons. As long as Hezbollah retains its weapons, words will not be enough. The government and Hezbollah must fully commit and act now in order not to consign the Lebanese people to a precarious status quo." The pro-Iranian party has hinted it would reject any new agreement on its arsenal, insisting that Israel must first comply with existing agreements. Hezbollah notably demands that the Israeli army withdraw from the five positions it still occupies in South Lebanon and stop its daily strikes in the border area, which have killed at least 285 people since the truce, according to a count by the U.N. and L'Orient Today.
