Joseph Aoun Tells CNN Lebanon Will Negotiate Non-Aggression With Israel, Rejects Netanyahu Meeting

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told CNN that "Ending the war with Israel will not be achieved except through diplomatic solutions" and said he believes "Iran uses Lebanon as a bargaining chip with the United States."

In a separate interview, Aoun said Lebanon is negotiating a "non-aggression agreement with Israel" and argued that such a text could open the way to "a lasting exit from the state of war between Lebanon and Israel."

Al Jazeera

Aoun also said he would not meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the conclusion of an agreement ending the war, while emphasizing that the military option could not guarantee the security of northern Israel.

The La Libre.be account says the negotiations aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in parts of southern Lebanon and to deploy the Lebanese army to the internationally recognized borders with Israel, with Simon Karam chairing the Lebanese delegation.

La Libre.be further reports that Hezbollah warned its fighters kept their "finger on the trigger" despite the truce and said it distrusts the Israeli "double game."

La Libre.be says Hezbollah opposes direct talks with Israel and accuses the head of state and the government of leading the country toward "capitulation," while it also warned that its fighters kept their "finger on the trigger" despite the truce.

Le Devoir describes the new step as historic after "productive discussions" in Washington, saying Marco Rubio brought together Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, along with Michel Issa and Mike Waltz.

Anadolu Ajansı

Le Devoir adds that Hezbollah stands out for its absence at the negotiating table and quotes Sami Aoun, professor emeritus at the University of Sherbrooke, calling the meeting "historic."

Le Devoir also reports that the Shiite movement claimed rocket fire toward 13 Israeli border towns, and it says Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar asserted, "There are no major disagreements between Israel and Lebanon. The problem is Hezbollah."

The La Libre.be account frames the truce as demanded by Tehran as one of the conditions for resuming talks with Washington, with the view to prolonging the ceasefire between Iran and the United States and working on conditions for a lasting peace.

Le Parisien reports that Israeli strikes have killed 2,387 people and displaced about a million in Lebanon since early March, citing an official toll updated on Monday, and it says the 10-day ceasefire was established after a meeting last week between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States.

It also reports that despite the ceasefire that came into effect Friday between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese National News Agency (ANI) reported an Israeli drone strike in the south at Qaqaiyat al-Jisr near the Litani River, where six people were wounded according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

In parallel, عكاظ says Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told after a Cabinet meeting that Israel conducted 3,491 airstrikes, 407 demolitions, and 6 land leveling operations that flattened entire villages in southern Lebanon from April 17 to June 7.

عكاظ further says the U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect after midnight on April 17 while Israeli forces still occupy vast areas in southern Lebanon, and it adds that more than one million people, equivalent to one-fifth of Lebanon's population, have been displaced since the outbreak of the latest war on March 2.

Le Devoir warns that Nabih Berri often acts as an intermediary and says that if peace ever collapses, "the risk that Lebanon would fall into a civil war is high," while also noting that the United States expressed hope the negotiations can go beyond the framework of the 2024 agreement.