Lebanese President Stresses the Need to Disarm Hezbollah and Transfer Weapons to the Army - Jordan News
— (Agencies)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Bawaba
10 hours ago
- Al Bawaba
Israeli strikes kill one, injure four in southern Lebanon amid ceasefire violations
ALBAWABA- One person was killed and four others injured on Monday following an Israeli air raid on the town of Khiyam in Lebanon's Marjayoun district, in yet another violation of the fragile ceasefire agreement that has been in place since late 2024. According to a statement by Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center, 'the Israeli enemy's raid on Khiyam led to the death of a wounded man due to the severity of his injuries,' while four others sustained various degrees of wounds. The escalation came as Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported the discovery of an Israeli spy device equipped with a camera and a drone in the town of Aytaroun, located in the southern governorate of Nabatiyeh. A Lebanese army statement confirmed that a specialized military unit dismantled the camouflaged device during ongoing engineering surveys in the region. The Israeli military also carried out artillery shelling between the towns of Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun in the Bint Jbeil district. Artillery and sound shells were fired toward the border towns of Ramiya and Ayta al-Shaab. Simultaneously, hostile Israeli reconnaissance drones, referred to by local media as "marches", flew at low altitudes over multiple areas, including Marjayoun, Nabatiyeh, Shukin, Arnoun, and Deir al-Zahrani. In a targeted strike, two Israeli drones dropped bombs on an excavator in the Fawara neighborhood of Yaroun, causing it to catch fire and sustain heavy damage. A separate drone dropped a stun grenade near the municipal stadium in Yaroun's Al-Sultana neighborhood, although no injuries were reported. Since the implementation of the ceasefire on November 27, 2024, between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli military has reportedly violated the agreement over 3,000 times, resulting in at least 267 deaths and 567 injuries, according to official Lebanese data. Despite a partial Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon, five Lebanese hilltops captured during the last war remain under Israeli occupation, further fueling tensions along the volatile border region.
Jordan Times
a day ago
- Jordan Times
Lebanon president promises justice 5 years after Beirut port blast
BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday vowed that "justice is coming", five years after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port for which nobody has been held to account. The blast on August 4, 2020 was one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions, devastating swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500. The explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials. Aoun said that the Lebanese state "is committed to uncovering the whole truth, no matter the obstacles or how high the positions" involved. "The law applies to all, without exception," Aoun said in a statement. Monday has been declared a day of national mourning, and rallies demanding justice are planned later in the day, converging on the port. "The blood of your loved ones will not be in vain," the president told victims' families, adding: "Justice is coming, accountability is coming." After more than a two-year impasse following political and judicial obstruction, investigating judge Tarek Bitar has finished questioning defendants and suspects, a judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Bitar is waiting for some procedures to be completed and for a response to requests last month to several Arab and European countries for "information on specific incidents", the official added, without elaborating. Impunity The judge will then finalise the investigation and refer the file to the public prosecution for its opinion before he issues an indictment decision, the official said. President Aoun said that "we are working with all available means to ensure the investigations are completed with transparency and integrity." Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a former International Court of Justice judge, said on Sunday that knowing the truth and ensuring accountability were national issues, decrying decades of official impunity. Bitar resumed his inquiry after Aoun and Salam took office this year pledging to uphold judicial independence, after the balance of power shifted following a devastating war between Israel and militant group Hezbollah. Bitar's probe stalled after the Iran-backed group, long a dominant force in Lebanese politics but weakened by the latest war, had accused him of bias and demanded his removal. Mariana Fodoulian from the association of victims' families said that "for five years, officials have been trying to evade accountability, always thinking they are above the law." "We're not asking for anything more than the truth," she told AFP. "We won't stop until we get comprehensive justice." On Sunday, Culture Minister Ghassan Salame said the port's gutted and partially collapsed wheat silos would be included on a list of historic buildings. Victims' families have long demanded their preservation as a memorial of the catastrophe.
Al Bawaba
a day ago
- Al Bawaba
Lebanese president Aoun marks Beirut port blast, ‘Justice will take place'
ALBAWABA - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun marked the fifth anniversary of the Beirut port blast, August 4, and stressed that justice will not die, local media reported Monday. Also Read Lebanon questions ex-minister Nohad Machnouk in Beirut port blast Aoun affirmed that the Lebanese state, with all its institutions, is committed to uncovering the entire truth, "regardless of the obstacles and regardless of the position held." He added, "Justice knows no exceptions, and the law applies to everyone without discrimination." Lebanese National News Agency cited the Lebanesed president, "On this painful day, August 4, we commemorate together the fifth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion, that major crime that shook the conscience of the nation and the world, claimed the lives of more than 200 martyrs, wounded thousands of innocent people, and destroyed entire neighborhoods of our beloved capital." Lebanese Civil Defense staff marking the fifth anniversary of the Beirut port blast. (X/Lebanese Civil Defense) On the other hand, the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon released a statement on the Beirut port blast anniversary, saying: "The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, expressed her solidarity with all those affected by this explosion, many of whom are still courageously seeking justice." Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert noted: "Five years on, the tragedy continues to fester, with a glaring absence of justice. The victims, the survivors, and their families deserve full accountability. And they deserve it now." Lebanese Civil Defense posted images on social media showing workers placing flowers on the memorial of the martyrs of the Port of Beirut.
