Lebanon ready to negotiate to reach an agreement that would end Israeli strikes, president says
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon ready to negotiate to reach an agreement that ends Israeli attacks It will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from the country five border hills It has been under occupation since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended last year, President Joseph Aoun said on Friday.
In a televised speech marking Independence Day, Aoun added that Lebanese troops were ready to deploy to any point where Israeli troops had withdrawn.
It is not yet clear whether Israel will accept this offer at a time when it is intensifying its attacks in Lebanon. Airstrike on Tuesday killed 13 people People in the Ein al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon carried out the deadliest attack since a ceasefire came into force a year ago.
Aoun did not mention whether negotiations with Israel would be direct and stated that the negotiations could be supported by the United States, the United Nations or the international community.
Aoun said the ceasefire monitoring committee, made up of the United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and UN peacekeepers known as UNIFIL, could only check whether Lebanese state forces were deployed along the border.
Israel recently said this Hezbollah It is trying to rebuild its capabilities after being weakened by the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The last Israel-Hezbollah war began on October 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas, one day after Hamas attacked southern Israel. Israel launched a large-scale bombardment of Lebanon for two months last year that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground offensive.
The war, the latest of many conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and estimated 11 billion dollars According to the World Bank, it is worth the destruction. 127 people, including 80 soldiers, lost their lives in Israel.
