Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Beirut stands ready to engage in internationally sponsored negotiations to secure an agreement that would end Israeli strikes on the country and lead to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from five border hills they have occupied since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended last year.
Mr Aoun did not say whether the negotiations with Israel would be direct, adding that they could be brokered by the US, UN or the international community.
“The Lebanese state is ready to negotiate – under UN, US or joint international sponsorship – any agreement that would establish a framework for a permanent end to transborder aggressions,” said Mr Aoun in a televised address marking Independence Day, adding that the Lebanese army is ready to be posted in all points from where Israeli troops withdraw.
Mr Aoun added on Friday that the ceasefire monitoring committee, which is made up of the US, France, Israel, Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping force known as Unifil, can then verify that only forces of the Lebanese state are posted along the border.
His offer comes at a time when Israel has intensified its strikes in Lebanon. On Tuesday, an air strike killed 13 people in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Al Hilweh near the southern city of Sidon in the deadliest attack since the ceasefire went into effect.
The Israeli army said on Friday that the strike had been an attack on “Hamas terrorists”. Hamas denounced Tuesday's strike and published pictures showing 13 young men and boys.
Residents and families of the victims who came to pay their respects on Thursday told The National that the young men and boys had been playing football when the strike occurred. The attacked centre is near the Khalid ibn Al Walid mosque, where Hamas is known to have a presence.
But residents said the field was part of a recreation centre open to all, where young men would socialise, and not a military “training compound”. They denied it had any political affiliation.
Last year, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a US and French-brokered ceasefire. Under the terms, Hezbollah and Israeli troops were required to withdraw from southern Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers were deployed alongside the Lebanese army to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure.
Despite the truce, Israel is still occupying five positions it considers strategically vital and continues to carry out daily strikes in Lebanon on what it says are Hezbollah targets.
Israel said recently that Hezbollah is trying to rebuild its capabilities after it emerged badly weakened from more than a year of hostilities with Israel that largely ended with a ceasefire in November last year.
Ensuring state control over weapons and decisions of war and peace is “important and inevitable”, Mr Aoun said.
Lebanon adopted an unprecedented plan to disarm Hezbollah in September and has touted progress south of the Litani River, the zone closest to Israel. But the US appears to be losing patience with Beirut's pace in disarming the Iran-backed group.
Washington is increasing pressure on Lebanon to show concrete progress on disarmament, as frustration grows in the Trump administration over what it sees as slow and uneven implementation on the ground, four American and Lebanese sources told The National this week.
Mr Aoun urged “Lebanon's friends and brotherly countries, to provide oversight throughout this process by establishing clear and guaranteed timelines, implementing an international mechanism of support to the Lebanese army, as well as assisting in the reconstruction efforts”.
Doing so will help ensure “that all weapons are in the hands of the state, on the entirety of the Lebanese soil”, he added.
Unifil's head of mission and force commander Maj Gen Diodato Abagnara said on Saturday the Lebanese army’s redeployment is key to extending state authority.
“On Lebanon’s 82nd Independence Day, Unifil remains committed to supporting the Lebanese army — our close partner in strengthening stability in the south. Their full redeployment across south Lebanon is essential for extending state authority,” he said on X.
Unifil was established in 1978 following Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon.
Its original mandate was to confirm Israel’s withdrawal, restore peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in re-establishing its authority in the area.
It comprises 10,800 military and civilian personnel from almost 50 countries. In August, the Security Council voted to extend the force's mandate until December 2026.
