Israel Warns Lebanon President Joseph Aoun’s Life Is At Risk From Negotiations

Israeli officials warned that the life of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is at risk due to negotiations with Israel, as an Israeli Foreign Affairs and Security Committee briefing was relayed by Channel 12.

“Israel has threatened to “burn” all of Lebanon after Hezbollah reiterated its defiance and rejection of peace talks as war across the border grinds on”

Al Jazeera

The An-Nahar report said the committee revealed a "danger threatening the life of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun due to negotiations with Israel," and it quoted Likud MK Boaz Bismut urging caution, writing on X: "I urge the Israeli people to exercise caution in light of the expected developments".

Al Jazeera

In that same account, the committee presented key points on the situation in Iran and Lebanon, including that "the negotiations that the Lebanese president is conducting with Israel endanger his life".

An-Nahar also said the committee claimed Tehran had "succeeded in regaining part of the Iranian ballistic missile system" and that "the Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive".

Caliber.Az, citing a report by Lebanese broadcaster MTV Lebanon, described Israeli military intelligence warning of a potential threat to Aoun’s life amid ongoing contacts between Lebanon and Israel, adding that no further details were provided.

Caliber.Az further reported that officials at the presidential palace in Beirut said the statements were being taken seriously but would not affect the country’s political stance, stressing that President Joseph Aoun would continue pursuing his current course despite what they described as threats and external pressure.

Together, the reports place the warning squarely in the context of direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations and frame it as a security risk tied to Aoun’s role in those talks.

As the negotiation process continued, multiple reports described a ceasefire that was being violated daily and accompanied by continued military pressure across Lebanon’s border.

All Israel News said Hezbollah continued to attack Israeli soldiers and towns on Monday, while it reported that the Israeli military was "noticeably hesitant to strike back hard" amid reports that the U.S. asked Jerusalem to hold back so as not to endanger the ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran.

All Israel News

The same report said the situation was exacerbated by the claim that "the Lebanese government has apparently refused to act against Hezbollah, contrary to its obligations," and it quoted an Israeli official saying: "There have been no arrests, no attempts to prevent attacks on our soldiers, and no effort to stop the rocket fire,".

All Israel News also tied the diplomatic track to the phone call between Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, saying Netanyahu told Trump that "Israel could not continue to stand by while Hezbollah attacked its troops".

It added that Trump acknowledged Israeli concerns but requested a "proportionate" response so as not to jeopardize negotiations with Iran.

Kurdistan24 described Netanyahu warning that "two central threats" remain—"122mm rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles"—and it said Israel’s military intensified strikes across Lebanon, targeting what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern regions.

Daily Sabah likewise quoted Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warning that "fire will burn the entire country," and it said Katz told the U.N. envoy to Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert that "(Hezbollah chief) Naim Qassem is playing with fire, and the fire will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon".

Across these accounts, the ceasefire is portrayed not as a halt to violence but as a fragile framework under which both sides continued strikes and counter-strikes.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended the direct negotiations with Israel while Hezbollah and Israeli officials exchanged escalating rhetoric about what the talks mean for Lebanon’s future.

“The Israeli Foreign Affairs and Security Committee revealed a 'danger threatening the life of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun due to negotiations with Israel', according to Channel 12”

An-Nahar

All Israel News reported that Aoun defended himself against domestic criticism of the direct negotiations but reiterated that his goal remains to entrench the ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli forces, rather than the far-reaching diplomatic agreements Israel and the U.S. plan to achieve.

It quoted Aoun saying: "Treason is the one who takes his country to war for external interests," and it also reported that he said: "My goal is to reach an end to the war with Israel in accordance with a ceasefire agreement, an agreement that stipulates that Israel will not carry out any offensive military action against Lebanese targets."

Aoun also reiterated he demanded from the U.S. that a ceasefire is a necessary first step before any further negotiations, and All Israel News quoted him saying: "We made it clear that Israel will not carry out any attack against Lebanese targets, civilian or military, in any part of Lebanon".

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected direct negotiations, with All Israel News quoting him that the results "are as if they do not exist as far as we are concerned, and they do not concern us, neither closely nor distantly," and it added that he demanded the government "annul their March 2 decision that criminalizes Hezbollah and its people".

Al Jazeera similarly reported Qassem’s position, quoting him that sacrifices are great but that the Lebanese people have two options: "Liberation and pride or occupation and humiliation."

Al Jazeera also quoted Qassem saying: "We are continuing our defensive resistance for Lebanon and its people," and "We will not return to the pre-March [status quo]; we will respond to the Israeli aggression and confront it. No matter what the enemy threatens, we will not retreat, we will not bow down, we will not be defeated."

On the Israeli side, Daily Sabah quoted Israel Katz warning that "Fire will break out and engulf the cedars of Lebanon," and it reported Katz alleging that Aoun was "gambling with the future of Lebanon".

In the same Al Jazeera account, Katz responded to Qassem by saying Qassem was "playing with fire … [that] will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon," while also accusing Aoun of "gambling with the future of Lebanon" and insisting Hezbollah must be disarmed.

The conflict’s human toll and displacement figures were reported with specific totals tied to the period since March 2, and those numbers were paired with descriptions of ongoing strikes and evacuations.

Daily Sabah said that "More than 2,500 people have been killed, over 7,750 injured and over 1.6 million displaced by Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2," citing Lebanese official figures.

Daily Sabah

It also said a "10-day ceasefire was declared between Lebanon and Israel on April 17," though it added that "Tel Aviv repeatedly violated it," and it reported that on Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump said Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend the truce by three weeks after a second round of talks in Washington.

Al Jazeera reported a different set of totals, saying that "According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed 2,521 people since March 2, with a further 7,804 wounded."

In the same Al Jazeera account, it described continued exchanges of fire even after the ceasefire, saying the Israeli military reported strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Bekaa Valley and attacks targeting the towns of Tibnin, Yater and Bint Jbeil.

Al Jazeera also reported that Hezbollah claimed attacks on Israeli forces within southern Lebanon and that the Israeli army said sirens sounded in the town of Arab al-Aramshe after an aircraft was reported to have entered northern Israel.

All Israel News added that ahead of airstrikes, the IDF ordered "16 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate" due to Hezbollah’s repeated attacks on troops amid the ceasefire, and it described the warning area as south of the Litani River that was already under a blanket evacuation warning.

It also quoted Netanyahu telling the IDF’s top brass that Israel was attacking "both in the security zone, north of the security zone, and north of the Litani," and it said Netanyahu described "the elimination of the rocket array" and "the creation of a security zone" among "monumental achievements".

Across the reports, the same conflict timeline is anchored to March 2 and April 17, but the reported casualty totals differ between Daily Sabah and Al Jazeera, and the reported displacement figure appears only in Daily Sabah.

The reports portray the stakes as both immediate—through continued strikes, evacuation orders, and threats of further escalation—and diplomatic, through U.S.-mediated talks and competing demands about what must happen before negotiations can proceed.

“Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday warned that Lebanon could face devastating escalation, saying "fire will burn the entire country,” as tensions with Hezbollah intensify following recent military orders by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”

Daily Sabah

Kurdistan24 said Netanyahu justified ongoing military operations in Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that countering Hezbollah’s rockets and drones requires both operational and technological measures, and it said the Israeli army maintains that under the ceasefire it retains the right to act against any imminent or ongoing threats.

Kurdistan24

It also said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun revealed that Beirut is pursuing direct negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, while Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected direct talks, describing them as a "sin."

Daily Sabah framed the Israeli position as conditional on Hezbollah and on the Lebanese government’s actions, quoting Katz saying the Lebanese government "continues to take cover" under the Hezbollah wing and that Israel would not accept a situation where a ceasefire coexists with continued attacks on Israeli forces and northern Israel.

Daily Sabah also said Netanyahu ordered escalation on Saturday in response to Hezbollah attacks, and it reported that Hezbollah carried out drone attacks targeting Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

Al Jazeera described Hezbollah’s preconditions for any dialogue, quoting Qassem’s demands including the end of "the aggression on land, sea and air," Israel’s withdrawal "from the occupied territories," the release of prisoners, the return of all displaced people and "reconstruction," while also demanding Lebanon end direct talks and reverse its decision that "criminalises the resistance."

In the same Al Jazeera account, it said the Israeli military on Monday reported strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Bekaa Valley and attacks targeting Tibnin, Yater and Bint Jbeil, while Hezbollah claimed attacks on Israeli forces and the Israeli army said sirens sounded in Arab al-Aramshe.

All Israel News added that Netanyahu told the IDF’s top brass that Israel retains "the freedom of action to thwart immediate and emerging threats" per the ceasefire’s terms, and it quoted Netanyahu saying "I am not under the illusion that this will come easily" and that "There are still two major threats from Lebanon, from Hezbollah: The threat of 122mm rockets, and the threat of drones and UAVs."

Taken together, the sources depict a cycle in which threats and operational actions continue alongside negotiations, with each side insisting on different conditions for any durable shift.