Aoun and Berri back army, Netanyahu calls efforts 'insufficient'

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army says it has completed the first phase of Hezbollah disarmament, winning support from Joseph Aoun and Nabih Berri, but Israel’s Netanyahu calls the efforts “insufficient.”

Tel Aviv is demanding the fastest possible disarmament of Hezbollah, which began in the border area of Israel in South Lebanon, that is, south of the Litani River. And the Israeli army is putting pressure on Lebanon to accelerate this process, while the commander in chief of the Lebanese army, Rodolphe Haykal, presented the plan's progress before the Cabinet session this morning.

Just hours before this meeting, the army had announced it had reached the objectives of the first phase of its plan, meaning disarmament south of the Litani, and would assess the situation to determine the next steps.

Shortly after the start of that Cabinet meeting, Lebanese President Aoun released a statement in which he expressed his "full support" for the army.

He stressed that the deployment of Lebanese soldiers south of the Litani, a region controlled by Hezbollah until the end of the 2023-2024 war, "is part of a consensual national decision, based on the Constitution, state decisions and relevant international commitments."

This deployment "aims to ensure the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state, to reaffirm the principle that the decision of war and peace belongs exclusively to our constitutional institutions, and to prevent the use of Lebanese territory as a starting point for any hostile action, in order to preserve Lebanon's higher interest and protect its people. Definitively and irreversibly," the text adds, as read by Baabda spokesperson Najat Sharafeddine.

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In line with the army's statement, Aoun recalled that the "complete Israeli withdrawal, respect for the cease-fire, and the release of prisoners are essential for the state to fully exercise its sovereignty, ensure the safe return of displaced civilians from the South, and launch an organized reconstruction process."

He addressed "every citizen of South Lebanon, praising their resilience on their land and their attachment to their state and their army. An expectation that will never be disappointed or betrayed."

He also called on the international community to ensure respect for the truce agreement, particularly by providing aid to the troops.

Reconstruction and return of southern residents

The Lebanese Army also received support from Parliament Speaker Berri, who said in a statement that the army's achievements would have been almost complete "were it not for Israel’s occupation" in South Lebanon and daily cease-fire violations.

"The South has affirmed and continues to affirm that it eagerly aspires to the presence and protection of its army," added the head of the legislature, who condemned Israeli "ambitions" in the South that hinder the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

"Leave our land, get out of our sky," Berry concluded.

In a message on X, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also commended "the Lebanese command, officers and soldiers" for completing the first phase of disarmament, and paid tribute to the soldiers killed on that mission.

He emphasized "the urgent need to provide logistical and financial support to the Lebanese Army" for the second phase of the plan "stretching between the Litani and Awali rivers, as well as subsequent phases."

The Litani flows into the sea north of Sour, the Awali north of Saida, about 30 kilometers further north. Salam added that priority should be given to the return of residents to the border area, and that on this basis, the government "will accelerate the reconstruction process in the South over the coming weeks, after parliament approves the World Bank loan for this purpose."

'Far from sufficient'

On the other side of the Blue Line, the army's announcement has not brought calm. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Lebanon's efforts to disarm Hezbollah "mark an encouraging start, but are far from sufficient."

He denounced Hezbollah's strategy "to rearm and rebuild its terrorist infrastructure with Iran's support," even as Iran's foreign minister is visiting Beirut on Thursday.

In a message on X, U.N. coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert also welcomed the announcement, calling it an "undeniable step forward."

"There remains much work to be done, but this important step taken today illustrates the commitment and reinforces the role of the 'Mechanism'," she added. Hennis-Plasschaert had visited Tel Aviv earlier this week.

The Israeli army continues to target what it describes as Hezbollah attempts to regroup, while Hezbollah party refuses to fully disarm as long as Israeli attacks continue.