Latest news with #LitaniRiver
LBCI
a day ago
- Politics
- LBCI
President Aoun tells US envoy Barrack that Israel's withdrawal is key to stability, urges continued support for reforms
President Joseph Aoun told U.S. envoy Ambassador Thomas Barrack that Lebanon is counting on Washington's support for its efforts to recover across various sectors—starting with securing stability in the south through the withdrawal of Israeli forces from five occupied hills, ending hostile actions, and renewing the mandate of UNIFIL, which operates in coordination with the Lebanese army to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Aoun affirmed that the Lebanese army deployed south of the Litani River continues to fully implement Resolution 1701 by removing armed presence, confiscating weapons and ammunition, and preventing any non-state armed groups. However, he said the army has been unable to complete its mission due to Israel's continued occupation of the five hills and surrounding areas. He also informed Barrack that Lebanon's reform process has begun and will continue, alongside anti-corruption efforts and the activation of state institutions to ensure they keep pace with national development goals.
LBCI
6 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
In the crossfire: Can Lebanon stay out of the Iran-Israel war?
Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi As drones, rockets, and warplanes traversed Lebanon's skies amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, Lebanese authorities are intensifying political and security efforts to prevent the country from being pulled into the widening regional war. On the ground in South Lebanon, the Lebanese Army has bolstered its deployment at sensitive locations to prevent rocket launches that could provoke further escalation. Measures have also been tightened at checkpoints leading to areas south of the Litani River to prevent any armed group from exploiting the volatile situation. In parallel with military and security efforts across the southern region, Lebanese intelligence services have issued explicit warnings to Palestinian factions, urging them not to involve Lebanon in the conflict under any pretext. Security sources noted that through formal communication channels, they sensed a clear stance from Hezbollah to avoid engagement in the current conflict and to keep Lebanon out of the hostilities. Despite repeated Israeli airstrikes and the assassination of several Hezbollah members following the ceasefire agreement, the group has refrained from retaliating. Sources indicate that Lebanese security attention is also focused on the country's interior and the Syrian border in northern Bekaa, where concerns remain about the potential for opportunistic infiltration or clashes. An exchange of fire on the border Friday was described as limited in scope, with no reports of Syrian reinforcements entering the area. President Joseph Aoun chaired a high-level security meeting with the ministers of interior, defense, and public works, as well as the heads of Lebanon's security agencies, to assess recent developments. The resulting statement emphasized steps being taken to maintain internal stability, ensure the safety of civil aviation, and preserve operational readiness. Amid the ongoing regional and international developments, Lebanon continues to prioritize the renewal of the U.N. peacekeeping force mandate in the south. Recent Israeli media claims suggesting the mission might be canceled were denied by U.S. officials. This position was reinforced by a visiting U.S. delegation in Beirut this week, which met with key stakeholders and heard both the UNIFIL and Lebanese perspectives. Lebanese authorities emphasized the critical role of UNIFIL in supporting the Lebanese Army and maintaining stability along the southern border, warning that a withdrawal would isolate the army and risk further destabilizing the region.
Asharq Al-Awsat
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Do You Support the State or Hezbollah?
In South Lebanon, the faces of the massacre's survivors were terrifying and harrowing. Amid the rubble of what used to be homes, the people are visibly apprehensive, in pain, and broken. No one was celebrating Eid-Al-Adha, not even the children. Both north and south of the Litani River, everyone in the South is deeply apprehensive about the future. This anxious anticipation- before or after defeat- has manifested itself in many forms, reflecting its causes and implications in various ways. Everything in the south feels unsettling, as though the ground were shaking. On the second day of the holidays, my daughter Nadia returned to our home after visiting our relatives in Nabatiyeh, and she told me about a conversation she had had with one of her young cousins. No older than eleven, this cousin asked: 'Do you support the state or Hezbollah?' My daughter's full account is not for publication, but it was alarming. The joint efforts of physicians, sociologists, and educators would be required to explain how a child could understand how to distinguish between a state and a militia, prefer the latter, and try to convince another child that 'Nawaf Salam is a bad guy, while 'The Sayyed' (Nasrallah) is a hero who died for us.' Before I continue, I should point out that I have not chosen to share the children's conversation because I believe that 'Truth comes out from the children's mouth,' and to expose the community's secrets through their words. My daughter defended Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, saying that he is a good man, while the other child firmly affirmed that Nasrallah is the one true leader. In an era of hyper-sectarianism, the words or behavior of children cannot be understood with the social virus of their environment- children are always innocent at heart. Sheikh Yasser Aoudeh was assaulted due to his enlightened ideas and audacity. We all know who had been behind this crime which exposes just how indoctrinated the community has been, as well as a state of lawlessness. This assault might not have come from the top, and Hezbollah's apology to Sheikh Aoudeh could be sincere. Still, it bears full ideological, social, and moral responsibility for the assault, exactly the same way that it is to blame for the child's words. Had it not been for years of indoctrination and incitement against difference- if it were for the demonization of other political and cultural views as a threat to the faith- this brazen attack against a religious figure in broad daylight, in front of many witnesses, would never have happened. The same applies to the assaults on the UNIFIL forces operating in the south. They are not simply spontaneous reactions of locals, as Hezbollah always claims. They were likely deliberate acts. Worse still, they may be the result of a power struggle within Hezbollah, and they could be linked to regional escalation. The important question is: how can we explain, from a sociological perspective, Hezbollah's success in pushing "locals" to carry out this assault and others like it? How could its support base aggravate the distortion of South Lebanon's relationship with the world? How could they fall into the trap of reinforcing its image as a lawless community that is hostile to outsiders? How can it be so vicious with anyone who criticizes or opposes the party? To analyze the direct and indirect causes of the three events, we need to deconstruct Hezbollah's social and cultural discourse- not just to understand its so-called ideological base but the Shiite community as a whole, both before and after the massacre of the "support war." That is, we must compare and contrast the two different phases in which displays of dominance, strength, and chauvinism accumulated over more than three decades. How can Hezbollah come to terms with the fact that its power had been an illusion? It suffered a crushing defeat within a week, forcing a retreat to its rhetoric of victimhood and existential fear to defend its weapons. Arms are now treated as part of the doctrine, and whoever objects (be they from the sect, the state, or the international community) is deemed an enemy of the faith. Between the rise and fall of ideological groups- throughout the years in which they strive to maintain their hegemony over sectarian their community- they have consistently stubbornly insisted on clinging to the same rhetoric of the massacre. They insist on shunning any effort to go over their mistakes and a reckless escalation, eventually reaching a point where they lose control over their reactions or emotions. At one stage, Hezbollah may indeed have succeeded in undermining the concept of statehood among Shiites, simultaneously consolidating a narrow and exclusive identity. It justified its monopoly over power under the pretext of 'empowering the sect' and 'protecting the faith,' tying both its arsenal. It then turned those arms into a tool needed to maintain a powerful 'parallel statelet' built over the ruins of a weakened state. This is the narrative it pushes on the young and the old, and it is now seeking to reimpose this narrative by force, attacking anyone who dares try to repudiate it.
LBCI
11-06-2025
- Business
- LBCI
Lebanon faces political paralysis: Key appointments remain on hold
Report by Nada Andraos, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi The term of Lebanon's four deputy governors at the Banque du Liban (BDL) officially ended on June 9, yet no successors have been appointed, nor have the current officials had their mandates renewed. While the publicly cited reason for the delay is the packed travel schedules of the President and the Prime Minister, the real cause lies in deep political divisions—primarily between the President and the Parliament Speaker and, to a lesser extent, between the President and the Prime Minister, along with other stakeholders involved in the appointments. This institutional deadlock is not limited to BDL. Similar paralysis has affected judicial and diplomatic appointments. Political infighting, conflicting conditions, and a quota-based power-sharing system have complicated even the distribution of ambassadorial posts to key global capitals. In the judiciary, tensions have escalated into a standoff between Justice Minister Adel Nassar and Speaker Nabih Berri over appointments in the financial judiciary sector. Lebanon is teetering on the brink of total paralysis. Every major decision appears suspended, dependent on unpredictable external developments, while political gridlock deepens with each passing day. Security concerns add to the instability, with mounting obstacles to implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the withdrawal of Hezbollah's weapons north of the Litani River, as well as the disarmament of Palestinian groups. On the financial front, the international community is awaiting the adoption of a comprehensive package of reform laws and a credible plan to close the financial gap, prerequisites for finalizing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Ultimately, Lebanon remains mired in political obstruction. A profound trust crisis persists among the country's leaders as they await foreign initiatives that have yet to materialize. Meanwhile, the goal of rebuilding the state, reforming its institutions, and putting Lebanon on a path to recovery remains suspended in uncertainty, with no resolution in sight.
Arab News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli strike kills one in Lebanon's south
BEIRUT: One person was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on a village in southern Lebanon, the health ministry reported, the latest deadly attack despite a November ceasefire. 'The raid carried out by an enemy Israeli drone on the town of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in one martyr and three people injured,' read a statement from the ministry. The official National News Agency said the strike targeted a house's courtyard in the town, adding that a missile hit the homeowner's car. Israel has regularly bombed its northern neighbor since the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with militant group Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war. The agreement required Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle all military infrastructure to its south. It also required Israel to withdraw all of its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five positions it deems 'strategic.'
