Joseph Aoun Urges Michel Issa To Pressure Israel To Halt Attacks And Home Demolitions

President Joseph Aoun met Monday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa as Lebanon and Israel prepare to hold a third round of talks on Thursday and Friday in Washington.

“Headline: Media: Israel Backtracks from the Goal of 'Disarming Hezbollah' to Continue the War in Lebanon”

Anadolu Ajansi

Aoun urged Issa to pressure Israel to implement a ceasefire reached on April 17, halt attacks, and stop the demolition and bulldozing of homes in southern border villages.

Anadolu Ajansi

Naharnet reported that Israel has expanded its strikes on Lebanon in recent days despite the ceasefire, and that its troops are operating behind an Israeli-declared "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometers north of Lebanon's border.

After meeting Aoun, Issa met with Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri, and the meeting discussed the latest developments in Lebanon and the region.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Israeli strikes on Lebanon, saying the "brutality with which Israel is waging war there could jeopardize the entire peace process."

Merz stressed that he urged the Israeli government to end its violent attacks, adding that unlike Iran, Israel and the United States do not regard Lebanon as covered by the two-week ceasefire that has been agreed.

deutschland.de

The dpa report said Merz expressed doubts about diplomacy, telling that although the window of opportunity for a negotiated settlement has opened for the first time, "Diplomatic success is by no means guaranteed."

The same report cited Iranian news agency Fars, saying Iran is considering withdrawing from the ceasefire in light of the large attack on its ally Hezbollah.

An explosion near a site of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon killed one Indonesian peacekeeper and seriously wounded another last Sunday, March 29, 2026, and two more Indonesian UN soldiers were killed the next day when their vehicle was destroyed near the town of Bani Hayyan.

“An explosion near a site of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon killed one Indonesian peacekeeper and seriously wounded another last Sunday, March 29, 2026”

DW

The DW report said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also strongly condemned these events, and that Indonesia, together with France, called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council because of the latest events.

DW added that Israel had previously urged UN forces to withdraw several times from the immediate border area, and that one objective of its current military operation is to establish a permanent security zone free of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, extending from the Israeli border to the Litani River about 30 kilometers from the border.

The report also said UNIFIL was expanded in 2006 after the Lebanon War and that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 called for Hezbollah to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon behind the Litani River.