Joseph Aoun Urges Donald Trump To Continue US Support After Israel Framework Agreement

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the United States to continue supporting Lebanon, its institutions and its armed forces after a US-brokered framework agreement with Israel aimed at achieving “lasting peace,” according to the Lebanese presidency.

“Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called on the United States to stand by Beirut following a landmark agreement between Lebanon and Israel, mediated by Washington”

Al Jazeera

Aoun’s message to US President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of US independence and stressed the importance of continued US support to strengthen stability and open “a new chapter of hope and peace,” as Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

An-Nahar

In Washington, the US-backed framework agreement signed on June 27 in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio established a framework for future agreements aimed at ending the conflict between Lebanon and Israel while safeguarding sovereignty and security, the Lebanese presidency said.

Kurdistan24 reported that the proposal envisions the gradual disarmament of Hezbollah, a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces across the border region beginning with two designated “pilot” areas.

Hezbollah rejected the framework, and the same report said it argued the deal does not include a clear timetable for a full Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

While Aoun pressed Washington to back Lebanon’s sovereignty and institutions, Hezbollah rejected the US-backed framework and Israel’s strikes and ground posture in southern Lebanon continued despite a ceasefire.

TRT World said the deal reached in Washington calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army there starting with two “pilot” areas, and it added that Hezbollah rejected the deal because it does not set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal.

Anadolu Ajansı

Kurdistan24 said the latest diplomatic efforts followed months of intense fighting that erupted after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks against Israel on March 2, and it said Israel responded with extensive airstrikes across Lebanon and launched a ground offensive into the country’s south.

Kurdistan24 also reported that security incidents continued, including that Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said an Israeli strike on the southern village of Mansouri on Saturday wounded one person.

In parallel, TRT World said the NNA reported that an Israeli strike on the village of Mansouri wounded one person and that Israeli artillery shelled other areas in southern Lebanon.

The sources tied the stakes for Lebanon’s recovery to the fragile ceasefire and the implementation of the US-backed framework, with displacement and casualties remaining central to the picture.

Kurdistan24 said that according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 640,000 displaced people have returned to their homes since June 22, while Lebanese authorities estimate the conflict killed around 4,300 people and displaced more than one million others.

TRT World similarly said the IOM reported more than 640,000 displaced people have returned home since June 22 and that Lebanese authorities said the war has killed some 4,300 people and displaced more than one million others.

During a visit to the heavily damaged southern city of Nabatieh, Kurdistan24 reported that Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said the government was preparing measures to facilitate the return of displaced families, including “prefabricated housing units and rental assistance for residents whose homes were destroyed or remain inaccessible.”

Kurdistan24 concluded that Hezbollah’s rejection of the agreement, Israel’s continued military presence in parts of southern Lebanon, and intermittent cross-border strikes “underscore the fragile nature of the truce and the challenges facing efforts to secure a lasting peace.”