This is Beirut - Lebanese Army

Why Iran’s Influence in Lebanon Persists Despite Hezbollah’s Losses

Marwan El Amine, 11:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Israel’s military blows to Hezbollah and its seizure of a strip of territory in southern Lebanon have not changed Tehran’s strategic calculus. The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to regard its influence in Lebanon as a strategic priority, despite the scale of casualties among Lebanon’s Shia population, the waves of displacement, and the ...

MP Makhzoumi Backs State Sovereignty and Direct Talks with Israel

This is Beirut, 02/05 19:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Parliamentarian and founder of the National Dialogue Party Fouad Makhzoumi on Saturday stressed the primacy of state sovereignty and endorsed direct negotiations with Israel as key to ending the country’s current crisis, saying “the exclusive right of the state to decide on war and peace” must be upheld. Speaking at a ...

Lebanon Ceasefire Opens a Diplomatic Window, Now Comes the Hard Part

Amal Chmouny, 02/05 18:40 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

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When the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel met at the White House on April 23, it was the kind of image that would have seemed unthinkable just months earlier. Their joint appearance alongside President Donald Trump — to announce a three-week extension of the cessation of hostilities — was a shift from decades of indirect, back-channel ...

Rubio is Right, a Vetted and Trained Lebanese Army Could be the Answer

Seth J. Frantzman, 30/04 11:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made an important announcement when he said that Washington is developing a plan to pursue Hezbollah’s disarmament by building up trusted units within the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). “We’re working towards establishing… a system that actually works where vetted units within the Lebanese Armed Forces ...

Why Hezbollah and Israel May Be Betting Against the Lebanon Truce

Marwan El Amine, 28/04 10:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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The Lebanon–Israel truce, extended by three weeks last Thursday, is already being put to the test. Escalating military exchanges in southern Lebanon are exposing both its fragility and the complicated political realities surrounding it. Both Israel and Hezbollah appear to see a potential breakdown of the truce as an opportunity to reshuffle the ...

Rubio: Strong Lebanese Army Key to Disarming Hezbollah

This is Beirut, 28/04 03:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel and Lebanon both sides ultimately “seek peace,” with the long-term solution centered on empowering the Lebanese Armed Forces to “go after and disarm and dismantle Hezbollah.” He described the situation as “a very ...

UK Channels Support to Displaced Families of Lebanese Army Personnel

This is Beirut, 23/04 12:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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The United Kingdom announced an expansion in aid to Lebanon on Thursday aimed at the families of Lebanese Armed Forces personnel, saying “LAF families are amongst those who are directly affected, undermining their sense of security and dignity.” The action brings total UK support since March to $40 million, with $27 million announced last ...

When Aoun Meets Netanyahu

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 21/04 14:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in the coming weeks, according to President Trump, who said he would invite both leaders. However, Aoun appears poised to follow a political path that will be rejected by Israel. Lebanon has vilified Israel for so long that a Lebanese ...

Will Lebanon Finally Break Its Cycle of Inaction?

Marwan El Amine, 21/04 09:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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As Lebanon and Israel prepare to deepen diplomatic contact amid a 10-day truce, attention is shifting to what comes next, including the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons and whether the ceasefire marks a temporary pause or a strategic shift. During the war, both President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam navigated a perilous political ...

A State Decides: Lebanon's Bet on Direct Talks with Israel

Amal Chmouny, 20/04 13:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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For the first time in decades, the U.S. has brokered direct talks between Lebanon and Israel, beginning with a 10-day cessation of hostilities and a commitment to negotiate in good faith. Washington says lasting calm will require the Lebanese state to reassert sovereignty over non-state arms. President Donald Trump said the initiative had created ...

Lebanon Has Another Opportunity of a Lifetime

David Hale, 20/04 10:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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As Lebanese, Israeli, and American teams prepare for their first-ever trilateral leaders summit, it is time to reflect on this opportunity and lessons from the past. Most Lebanese have yearned for decades for a restoration of state sovereignty and peace. There are a host of reasons why they have been deprived of what most people around the ...

IDF to Remain in its Positions in South Lebanon

This is Beirut, 17/04 09:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Israeli forces continued shelling areas in southern Lebanon on Friday, including the towns of Khiam and Debbine, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). Under the U.S.-brokered 10-day ceasefire, Israel agreed to halt “offensive” military operations against Lebanese targets but explicitly retained the right to ...

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