Firefighters extinguish a car on fire at the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburb of Beirut, on March 28, 2025. Photo AFP
BEIRUT — U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus is set to arrive in Beirut late Friday for her second visit since taking office, following an extended stay in Israel, and has scheduled meetings with Lebanese officials on Saturday to discuss escalating tensions in the South and efforts to maintain the fragile cease-fire.
Sources indicated that Ortagus is expected to take a firm stance, pressing for a clear timetable for Hezbollah’s disarmament and reaffirming Washington’s support for Israeli attacks in Lebanon, as its army claims these operations are necessary to eliminate potential threats.
Lebanese officials, meanwhile, plan to push back, presenting a united front. President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri have agreed to demand an Israeli withdrawal from remaining occupied territories in southern Lebanon, the release of Lebanese detainees in Israel, and an end to violations and attacks on Lebanese territory, according to information shared with L'Orient Today.
Lebanon insists indirect negotiations on land border demarcation can only begin after these conditions are met and Beirut has ruled out elevating the level of representation in these talks, seeking to avoid granting them political or diplomatic weight.
Washington, however, is first demanding a significant expansion of the Lebanese Army’s role south of the Litani River, mainly tasked with disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its infrastructure and protecting the border region. U.S. officials also want three negotiation committees established to address Israeli withdrawal from seven occupied positions, the release of Lebanese detainees held in Israel and the demarcation of the land border.
The army urged to 'meet challenges'
Against this backdrop, two senior U.S. senators — Republican Jim Risch and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, the latter whose husband is of Lebanese roots — urged the Lebanese Army to step up its role in securing the south. While both lawmakers reaffirmed strong bipartisan support for the Lebanese Army, they expressed frustration over being “too slow” in fulfilling cease-fire commitments.
“The U.S. should be prepared to expand assistance to the Lebanese Army to support expeditious fulfillment of the cease-fire obligations,” Risch and Shaheen said in a joint statement. “However, any Lebanese Army hesitancy to meet the security challenges in the south would be deeply concerning and force the United States to re-evaluate its approach.”
They described the current moment as “critical” for Lebanon, suggesting it offers an opportunity to curb Iranian influence in Beirut.
The senators also called on the Salam government to accelerate reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund while warning against any political compromises with Hezbollah. In a direct warning, they singled out three Shiite ministers — Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine, Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar and Finance Minister Yassine Jaber — as well as Parliament Speaker Berri.
“Speaker Nabih Berri, a longtime Hezbollah ally, must propel Lebanon into the future or risk returning to a broken government. Likewise, Ministers Rakan Nasreddine, Mohammad Haidar, and Yassine Jaber must fully support Lebanon’s revival,” their statement read.
UNIFIL mandate and U.S. funding concerns
Another source of leverage over Lebanon is the renewal of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate. With Washington scaling back financial support abroad, Washington displays reluctance to continue funding the peacekeeping mission as its mandate approaches expiration in August next year.
According to our sources, the U.S. still intends to extend UNIFIL’s mandate but is pushing to expand its authority under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, allowing the use of force. Additionally, Washington wants the mission to include surveillance of the Lebanese-Syrian border to curb smuggling.
Israel escalates diplomatic and military pressure
Israel is also applying diplomatic pressure. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking in Paris on Thursday, said Israel aims to “normalize relations with Lebanon,” though he acknowledged such a prospect “may seem premature from a Lebanese perspective.” Saar also referred to “ongoing negotiations,” saying: “We have a team negotiating ... the border disputes.” Saar also said that his country seeks stability in Lebanon but will not allow Hezbollah to rearm.
Defense Minister Israel Katz took a more combative tone. Speaking from an Israeli military position inside Lebanese territory on Wednesday, he vowed Israeli forces would maintain their presence indefinitely.
“This is what victory looks like,” Katz said. “The Israeli army is here, protecting communities below and allowing them to continue their activities ... And the villages on the other side are being crushed.” He estimated it could take up to five years for Lebanese civilians to return to their villages.
Israeli strikes continue
Maximum military pressure on Lebanon also continues. Israel is intensifying its operations and targeted assassinations, raising fears that southern Beirut's suburbs might be struck more frequently. Behind the scenes, it is rumored that Israel intends to conduct its operations wherever it chooses and strike any target whenever an opportunity arises. On Thursday, the Israeli army carried out two drone strikes in southern Lebanon. The first hit a car on the Bint Jbeil-Yaroun road, injuring two. The second targeted a car on the road leading to the village of Alma el-Chaab (Tyre). Two men working on a construction site in a house in the village were in the targeted vehicle, reports our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah, noting one injured. Meanwhile, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, indicated on his X account that "the Israeli air force attacked a Hezbollah terrorist operating in the Alma el-Chaab area."
Israel has ramped up military pressure on Lebanon, intensifying targeted strikes that have fueled concerns over a possible escalation in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
According to security sources, Israel is prepared to strike targets wherever and whenever opportunities arise. On Thursday, the Israeli army carried out two drone strikes in southern Lebanon. The first hit a car on the Bint Jbeil-Yaroun road (Bint Jbeil district), injuring two people. The second targeted a vehicle on a road leading to Alma al-Shaab, in the Sour district. Two men working on a construction site in the village were in the targeted car, with at least one injured, reported our regional correspondent.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X that the Israeli air force had struck a Hezbollah operative in the Alma al-Shaab.
Early Friday, an Israeli drone strike targeted a residential apartment in the heart of the southern Lebanese city of Saida, killing three people, including a senior Hamas official and two of his children, according to our regional correspondent and local media.
The Israeli army has yet to claim the strike.
Hezbollah advocates 'confrontation' against 'American-Israeli aggression'
Hezbollah condemned Thursday the "barbaric American-Israeli aggression," stating that "the equation today is clear: either confrontation or submission to the enemy's plans." In a statement, the party condemned "the barbaric American-Israeli aggression against Syria, Yemen, Gaza and Lebanon," considering it an "extension of the open war waged by the American-Zionist axis against the peoples of the region ... to subjugate them to the interests of the Zionist entity and dominate the region."
Hezbollah specified that "the attack on Syria, with repeated airstrikes and continuous incursions into its territory, aims to weaken the Syrian state and prevent its recovery, constituting a flagrant violation of its sovereignty." The group added that "the heroic resistance of the honorable sons of Syria against the Zionist incursion proves that the Syrian people have always chosen confrontation and resistance against the occupier and that the spirit of resistance is deeply rooted in their consciousness." Regarding Yemen, Hezbollah emphasized that "the continuation of barbaric American aggression and massacres committed against its people aim to divert the Yemeni people from supporting Gaza and the Palestinian resistance by trying to prevent them from continuing their heroic operations." On Gaza, Hezbollah stated that "the extermination war continues, and forced displacement projects, under the eyes of a complicit international community, reveal the enemy's inability to break the will of resistance and the steadfast spirit of the Palestinian people." "This dangerous escalation places all countries and peoples of the region before a historical responsibility, compelling them to unite against these projects that threaten the world," added Hezbollah. "The equation today is clear: either confrontation or submission to the enemy's plans, which aim only to subjugate the region, dominate it, and exploit its peoples and resources." The party, in this context, called on "all free people of the world to raise their voices against this unjust aggression and to pressure the international community to stop these repeated attacks."