Lebanese leader rules out war as two killed in Israeli drone strike

President Joseph Aoun says next year will witness the birth of a new Lebanon and a state of accountability

A Lebanese soldier guards the wreck of a car attacked by an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon. EPA

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said diplomatic efforts had helped to keep Lebanon away from war, despite continued Israeli attacks that killed two people on Thursday.

“Diplomatic contacts have not stopped in order to push back the spectre of war,” Mr Aoun was quoted by state media as saying after meeting Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al Rai. “I tell you that the spectre of war has been kept away from Lebanon, and matters will move in a positive direction, God willing.”

The President was speaking after media reports indicated that Israel was considering an escalation against Lebanon, citing what it has described as a lack of willingness to disarm Hezbollah.

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The Lebanese army has rejected those claims, accusing Israel of spreading misinformation. It said that the first phase of Hezbollah’s disarmament near the southern border is set to be completed by the end of the year, in line with arrangements.

The army added that subsequent phases, which would involve disarmament in other areas, would take into account all security risks and national considerations.

Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm across Lebanon, warning that any attempt to do so by force could push the country into civil war. The group has instead called for dialogue over what it describes as a national “defence strategy” against Israel.

While Lebanon has not faced a full-scale escalation, Israel has continued near-daily strikes, repeated breaches of the ceasefire agreement reached with Hezbollah last year.

On Thursday, at least two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle near the Syrian border. The Israeli military said it attacked what it described as a “terror operative” in the town of Nasiriyah in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, without specifying which group the target belonged to.

“Next year, we will witness the birth of a new Lebanon and a state of accountability, a state of institutions, not a state of parties and sects,” said Mr Aoun. “There is a bleeding wound in the south, and with the birth of a new Lebanon, God willing, we will put an end to wars and live in peace.”