President Joseph Aoun surrounded by a delegation from the Lebanese Press Syndicate. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Beirut is maintaining diplomatic efforts to ensure the Israeli army withdraws from the remaining areas it occupies in southern Lebanon by Feb. 18, according to a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The withdrawal is a key condition of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended more than 15 months of hostilities. Aoun said Lebanon is engaging "notably with the United States and France to reach an appropriate solution," as Israel seeks to extend its occupation until Feb. 28 — its second requested extension after the initial Jan. 27 deadline. The cease-fire, brokered by Washington and Paris, halted fighting that devastated southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing more than 4,000 Lebanese and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Aoun made the remarks during a meeting at the Baabda Presidential Palace with Lebanese Press Syndicate president Aouni Kaaki, who visited Aoun to congratulate him on his election on Jan. 9, which ended more than two and a half years of political deadlock.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Thursday that the U.S. informed him that Israel would withdraw from the villages it occupies by Feb. 18 but would maintain a presence at five points. However, Berri emphasized that he, along with the President and the Prime Minister, has strongly rejected this plan.
Berri also refused any discussion about extending the Israeli withdrawal deadline, asserting that "it is the responsibility of the Americans to enforce the withdrawal; otherwise, they will have caused the biggest setback for the [newly-formed] Lebanese Cabinet."
"If the occupation persists ... it is the responsibility of the Lebanese state," Berri said, adding that the Lebanese Army is fulfilling its duties in the southern Litani region.
The president said that along with the new government formed last Saturday by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, he aims to "restore confidence among [foreign] countries and encourage investment from Arab and Gulf countries." He urged the media to play a constructive role in Lebanon’s recovery. "Criticize us if we make mistakes, but your criticism be constructive, not relentless. Constructive criticism allows for correcting actions. I want to leave office after six years with a clear conscience," he said.
Parallels with Fouad Chehab, Hezbollah invitation
Kaaki compared Aoun’s election to that of Fouad Chehab, Lebanon’s first military president, who served from 1958 to 1964 — a period considered one of the country’s most stable and prosperous. Kaaki also described the formation of the new government as a "sign that the time for work has begun."
Later, Aoun met with a delegation from Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, led by MP Mohammad Raad, who formally invited him to the funerals of former Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah and his designated successor, Hashem Safieddine, on Feb. 23. Both were killed in massive Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, 2024, respectively.
The Hezbollah delegation also delivered invitations to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail, as well as to former President Michel Aoun and former Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Earlier in the day, Aoun hosted meetings with Ali Hassan Khalil, president of the Lebanese Business Council in Kuwait; Norwegian Ambassador Hilde Haraldstad; Lebanese Ambassador to Liberia Henri Kastoun; and Abdallah Fahd al-Shami, president of the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait.