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“The bigger picture is that Lebanon is [disarming Hezbollah] in a phased approach, which might take two years or three years, and Israel, possibly backed by the US, wants it done much quicker, right away,” one analyst told Breaking Defense.
The European Union is studying options for strengthening Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to help free up the Lebanese army to focus on disarming the armed group Hezbollah, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The United Nations has warned Israel again over the latest airstrikes against southern Lebanon, calling the repeated raids “clear violations” of Security Council Resolution 1701.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun met with a visiting delegation of UN Security Council ambassadors on Friday, urging them to press Israel to enforce the ceasefire and comply with international resolutions, the presidency has announced.
On his first trip as pontiff, Leo XIV predictably called for peace and unity. But he also addressed technology’s promise and pitfalls.
Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks Wednesday in decades, part of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism in the war, a source close to the negotiations told AFP.
Diplomats from both countries joined a military-led committee overseeing a year-old truce as fears mounted of a renewed Israeli offensive against Hezbollah.
Traveling through the Mideast, Leo XIV channeled many of his predecessor’s messages. Leo’s deliberate manner differed from Francis.
The trip comes days before the anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and as Lebanon is navigating the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel.
The pope ended his first international tour with a waterfront mass in Beirut, Lebanon, for thousands of people. It was near the site of a port explosion that killed hundreds in 2020.