Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (center) meets with a delegation from the press union, led by the union president, Aouni Kaaki, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Credit: The Grand Serail's X account @grandserail)
BEIRUT — Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Israel's violations of the cease-fire agreement on Tuesday, stating that the continued presence of its army in positions in southern Lebanon "will threaten stability." He called to activate the oversight committee's role in the implementation of the cease-fire to put an end to Israeli violations, according to remarks reported on the Grand Serail's X account.
Following the firm criticism of President Joseph Aoun — after the Israeli strike conducted on Sunday with prior warning on a warehouse in Hadath, in the southern suburb of Beirut — Salam stated during a meeting with the press union that "the attack on the southern suburb of Beirut and other Israeli aggressions constitute a violation of the cessation of hostilities provisions." He estimated that "activating the monitoring mechanism is necessary to put an end to these aggressions." The oversight committee is composed of French and American generals, as well as representatives from Lebanon, Israel and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
'Permanent contact' with the US, France
He also called on France and the U.S., sponsors of the cease-fire agreement signed on Nov. 27, 2024, between Lebanon and Israel, which ended more than 13 months of war between Hezbollah and the Israeli state, to remain alongside Lebanon to achieve its objective: "Lebanon is committed to [the implementation of] the agreement [which notably provides for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the deployment of the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon], and the Israeli side must be too. It is important to us that the American and French positions remain alongside Lebanon to achieve this objective," he declared.
He said that "permanent contact is maintained with the Americans, the French, and all influential forces, especially Arab and European countries, ensuring to maintain and strengthen this pressure [to end the aggressions]."
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammad Shia al-Soudani, and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, discussed the “need ... to consolidate the cease-fire agreement in Lebanon” in a telephone conversation on Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister's press office.
Contrary to the provisions provided by the agreement, the Israeli army continues to bomb southern Lebanon almost daily, estimating "forcing" the application of the agreement by striking "positions" of the party. Israel has killed more than 140 people in the South since the cease-fire came into force, and its army remains present on five hills near the border, "strategic" according to it. "Lebanon wishes to put an end to all these violations and end the Israeli occupation of the five hills and all Lebanese lands," said Salam. "If Israel does not completely withdraw, it will threaten stability," he warned.
In a speech on Monday evening, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem stated that the official position facing Israeli-American demands was "soft." "We know that the President of the Republic is closely monitoring the situation and that his position, as well as that of the Prime Minister, was good," he affirmed. "But we expect more daily action and an intensification of diplomatic efforts."
Hezbollah 'always asserts it stands behind state'
Questioned on the state's monopoly on arms, a leitmotiv of Aoun's presidency since his inauguration speech on Jan. 9 and the government's ministerial statement, written 10 days later, explicitly mentions it, Salam declared that the "party always asserts that it stands behind the state" and that "the state has made a clear decision on this matter, based on the ministerial statement for which the party voted in favor."
The party does not seem ready to discuss its disarmament until the violations of the agreement by Israel stop, according to Qassem's comments on Monday evening. In recent weeks, the party's leaders categorically refused to discuss disarmament, speaking of the need to define a "national defense strategy."
Also seeming to respond to the Hezbollah leader's criticism of the "delay" in rebuilding the war-destroyed areas, which he saw as a form of "discrimination" against the Shiite component (mainly targeted by the Israeli war machine), Salam stated that "the government has begun working on a reconstruction plan, starting with infrastructure." "A damage assessment has been carried out, and work is underway to mobilize the necessary resources. The government has started negotiations with the World Bank, and an amount of 325 million dollars has already been secured, with the aim of increasing it," he said.
Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber revealed a week ago that "Lebanon has obtained a preliminary agreement to increase the value of the World Bank loan for reconstruction, raising it from 250 to 400 million dollars," reported his press office.
'The army needs to strengthen its numbers'
Salam also insisted on the "need" for the Lebanese Army to "strengthen its numbers," at a time when it must deploy both in southern Lebanon and on the northeastern border, where sporadic incidents have opposed Shiite clans to the new Syrian security forces in the past two months, against a backdrop of a porous border between Lebanon and Syria.
"The army needs to strengthen its numbers with new recruits, especially because of the significant responsibilities it has, including its deployment in the South and its expansion on the northeastern border, as well as its support to the internal security forces and its presence in many public infrastructures, notably the port and the airport," he said. These two infrastructures have long been accused by Hezbollah opponents of being used by the party for the transfer of arms and cash from abroad.
While the cease-fire agreement provides for the gradual deployment of 10,000 Lebanese soldiers in southern Lebanon, military officials indicated 10 days ago that 1,500 additional soldiers have been deployed in the country's South so far, bringing the total to 6,000, and that 4,000 more are in the process of being recruited.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
