On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Awn called for direct negotiations with Israel to end the fighting. which has been leading in Lebanon against the Hezbollah militant movement since last week. He accused the Shiite movement of on behalf of Iran, he is trying to bring the state to collapse. TASR informs about it based on the AFP report.
- Lebanese President Joseph Awn calls for direct negotiations with Israel on a cease-fire.
- Awn accused Hezbollah of deliberately leading Lebanon to collapse for the sake of Iran.
- Hezbollah attacks northern Israel with rockets and drones after Khamenei’s killing.
- Israel strikes Hezbollah warehouses in Lebanon by air and advances deeper into the territory.
- Lebanon is trying to enforce the state’s arms monopoly and disarm Hezbollah.
Lebanon was drawn into a regional war when Hezbollah became involved in the war conflict between Israel, the US and Iran. The movement in retaliation for Israeli-American attacks and the killing of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began on the night of Monday, March 2, with rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel.
The Israeli army responded with airstrikes in the south of Lebanon, in the Bikaa valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut. It destroys warehouses and bases of Hezbollah, which has long supported Iran financially, with weapons and training. Israeli forces have also advanced deeper into Lebanese territory.
“Whoever launched these rockets (at Israel) wanted to cause the collapse of the Lebanese state and plunge it into aggression and chaos. All because of the Iranian regime’s intentions.” Awn told top European Union officials in an online meeting. Lebanon’s president described Hezbollah as “an armed group outside the structures of the state that does not value the interests of Lebanon or the lives of its people”. He called for “direct negotiations under international auspices” with Israel to stop the fighting.
Hizballah’s entry into the conflict deepened the long-standing divisions in the Lebanese political scene and society. Hezbollah was created after 1982 as a movement of armed resistance against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. It also remained the only political faction in the country whose militias retained their weapons after the civil war ended in 1990.
Israel considers Hezbollah a threat to its security and has had several conflicts with it. The last time he succeeded in significantly weakening the group was in 2024, and since then the Lebanese state has been trying to assert a monopoly on weapons and disarming Hezbollah.
