Wadih El Khazen contacts Gallagher to check on Pope's health
The phone call was an opportunity to discuss developments in Lebanon after the election of a President of the Republic, and the formation of a new government capable of working to win the confidence of the friendly international community that is waiting to extend a helping hand to the Lebanese people.
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Ya Libnan
3 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Barrack piles on pressure on Lebanon over Hezbollah disarmament
The special envoy has led US discussions with Lebanese leaders over Hezbollah's disarmament over the months [Getty/file photo] US envoy Tom Barrack has continued to apply pressure on the Lebanese government to speed up the disarming of Hezbollah . The ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria warned on Sunday that the Lebanese government's credibility 'rests on its ability to match principle with practice,' in reference to pledges that Beirut has made to gain state monopoly on arms. 'The government and Hezbollah need to fully commit and act now in order to not consign the Lebanese people to the stumbling status quo,' he said. 'As long as Hezbollah retains arms, words will not suffice.' On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that negotiations with Hezbollah remain ongoing but acknowledged that they were progressing very slowly. 'There is some responsiveness to the ideas we're discussing, even things are moving at a slow pace,' he said. Hezbollah had rejected Barrack's roadmap that would see the group disarm within four months, in exchange for a halt to Israeli withdrawal from the country, as well as a cessation of strikes. The group's current leader, Naim Qassem, said: 'We are a people who do not surrender', and rejected US pressure to act on the matter. Qassem , while maintaining being open to dialogue, has continuously stressed that the group giving up its arms would be 'suicidal' amid Israel's frequent strikes on the country's south. Disarmament has been the centre of national and international negotiations with Lebanon following the November ceasefire, with Barrack making several diplomatic visits to Beirut on the matter since his appointment. One of Lebanon's most high-profile politicians, Walid Jumblatt , spoke in favour of Hezbollah's disarmament in an interview with Saudi channel Al-Arabiya . The Druze leader said that Hezbollah must 'realise that keeping its weapons and missiles serves no purpose,' stressing that it would cause problems for the country and Lebanon would 'not stabilise' as a result, in Saturday's interview. Founded in the 1980s in response to Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon, the Iran-backed group grew into a Shia Islamist party and militant group. The group has fought several conflicts against Israel, but was significantly weakened late last year after Tel Aviv launched a full-scale war in Lebanon, in parallel with the military onslaught in Gaza. Several high-profile members were killed, including its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, as well as his successor, Hashem Safieddine. More than 4,000 Lebanese were killed by Israel, who struck the country's south, Beirut and the eastern Beqaa Valley, among other locations. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was then reached in November last year, which Israel routinely continues to violate, cling that Hezbollah has not complied with UN Resolutions 1559 and 1701 which call for disarming all militias in Lebanon New Arab
Nahar Net
5 hours ago
- Nahar Net
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
6 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.
