Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati presiding over a Cabinet meeting in Sour, southern Lebanon, on Dec. 7, 2024. (Credit: @Najib_Mikati/X)
An exceptional Cabinet meeting was held Saturday morning at the Benedict Barakat barracks in Sour, a major city in southern Lebanon that was heavily bombed during the last war in Lebanon. The meeting was attended by the army commander, General Joseph Aoun.
At the outset of the session, which had been announced on Wednesday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati reaffirmed the government’s support for the Lebanese Army and its commitment to implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 in the area south of the Litani River. In addition to Aoun, other military officials were present to brief ministers on plans to enforce Resolution 1701, deploy the army and dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure, following the truce that took effect on Nov. 27.
In a statement issued before the meeting, Mikati noted that it marked his third visit to southern Lebanon in three months. “The purpose of today’s cabinet meeting in Sour iis to highlight what the South means to Lebanon,” he said.
Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamiyeh, speaking in Sour on Friday, said the session would primarily focus on clearing the demolition debris left by the war and on reconstruction efforts. “The key points will include rubble removal, damage assessment and reconstruction — issues closely monitored by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati,” he told the state-run National News Agency. “We have managed to define a specific framework, which we will announce tomorrow [Saturday] with the aim of beginning its implementation,” he added.