A yellow Hezbollah flag flutters from the rooftop of a car as it drives towards southern Lebanon, past a billboard on which hangs a portrait of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and reads, 'Diplomacy is the way to end wat in Lebanon' in the coastal city of Saida, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut on June 15, 2026. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — President Joseph Aoun defended Sunday, during a discussion with journalists, his stances in favor of ending the war with Israel, notably the signing of the framework agreement on June 26 in Washington.
"To those who oppose this agreement, I say that I am waiting for any solution or agreement that allows us to get out of the war," declared the head of state, after the text was rejected by the Amal-Hezbollah alliance.
"I am not in favor of Israel, but propose another solution, whatever it may be, and I will implement it," he added. "The situation today is different from that of May 17 [1983]," explained Aoun, referring to the doomed May 17, 1983, agreement signed between the Lebanese and Israeli governments at the time, in the midst of the civil war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
"Everyone contacted me and approved these measures," Aoun also asserted, in an allusion to the agreement signed in Washington.
Lebanon and Israel have reached a framework agreement aimed at ending the war between Hezbollah and Israel, which continues to occupy a "buffer zone" of more than 600 square kilometers in southern Lebanon, extending up to 10 kilometers deep. The text also provides for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon.
