An opposition leader has confirmed that if a president of the Republic is not elected before the end of the year to appoint a new commander-in-chief of the Army, the current Commander-in-Chief, General Joseph Aoun, who is set to retire in mid-January 2025, will be reappointed for another year despite the objections of some.
The United States envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, raised the issue with the officials he met and confirmed that the Biden administration has allocated $1 billion to the army to recruit 6,000 new soldiers. This funding is intended to support the implementation of Resolution 1701 after a potential declaration of truce in Gaza and cessation of military operations in South Lebanon. The message was clearly delivered to those concerned, accompanied by an urgent call for the election of a president of the Republic as soon as the truce in Gaza is announced.
These sources confirm that the government’s approval of the recruitment of 1,500 of the planned 6,000 soldiers is nothing more than a clear message to foreign countries that the government approves the renewal of the mandate of the Army’s commander-in-chief responsible for implementing Resolution 1701 in full.
