https://arab.news/52p58
- US envoy’s Lebanon visit centers on progress in consolidating state control over weapons, advancing ceasefire with Israel
- Egyptian intelligence chief informs Aoun of his country’s readiness to help establish stability in southern Lebanon
BEIRUT: US envoy Morgan Ortagus on Tuesday praised the Lebanese army’s efforts in implementing the government-approved plan to centralize control over weapons under the state’s authority.
“Ortagus affirmed the US administration’s commitment to Lebanon’s security and stability,” an official source told Arab News.
Having arrived in Beirut Monday evening, Ortagus held meetings Tuesday afternoon with Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
She is scheduled to attend a session of the Mechanism Committee at the headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon in Naqoura on Wednesday.
According to an official, Ortagus refrained from making public statements during her meetings.
The source described the atmosphere of her meeting with President Aoun as positive, noting that she viewed the Mechanism Committee’s work as progressing.
They emphasized the need to find ways to implement the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, in effect since Nov. 27, as a contribution to Lebanon’s stability.
Berri’s office explained that the meeting with Ortagus focused on “Israeli violations and the work of the five-member technical committee monitoring the ceasefire.”
Following her meeting with Berri, media reports indicated Ortagus proposed expanding the Mechanism Committee to include civilian members, as the current committee is limited to military officers.
Ortagus also reported “an Israeli account of weapons being smuggled from Syria to Lebanon, noting that the US administration has not yet confirmed this matter.”
From his end, President Aoun stressed to Ortagus “the need to activate the work of the Mechanism Committee to stop the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks on Lebanon and to implement Resolution 1701 in the south, enabling the Lebanese army to complete its deployment to the southern international border.”
President Aoun also emphasized the need to pave the way for southern citizens to return to their homes and repair damaged ones, particularly as winter approaches.
During her stay in Israel, Ortagus toured the border with Lebanon alongside Tel Aviv’s Defense Minister Israel Katz.
During the tour, Katz affirmed that Israel would continue to defend the northern regions against any threat.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese army worked to dismantle an earthen embankment erected by the Israeli army on the outskirts of the town of Markaba in Marjayoun, in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corp. quoted Israeli security sources as saying that Hezbollah succeeded in smuggling hundreds of short-range missiles from Syria to Lebanon in recent months.
While some attempts to smuggle arms have been thwarted, other shipments reportedly reached the group’s warehouses in Lebanon.
Tel Aviv has informed Washington of the details regarding these arms-smuggling operations across the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Israel Hayom reported that official Israeli estimates indicate that Hezbollah possesses approximately 10,000 missiles.
The newspaper quoted Israeli officials as saying that if the Lebanese government is unable to disarm Hezbollah, there would be no alternative but to carry out a “focused and targeted operation against Hezbollah targets.”
In parallel with Ortagus’ visit, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad arrived in Beirut and met with Aoun.
Rashad, according to the media office at the Presidential Palace, “expressed his country’s readiness to help stabilize southern Lebanon and end the volatile security situation there. He also reiterated Egypt’s support for Lebanon.”
Official sources told Arab News that “Rashad conveyed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s concern for Lebanon and its stability. He spoke about the Gaza agreement and the Sharm El-Sheikh summit and raised the possibility of benefiting from this experience to extend this atmosphere to Lebanon.”
Aoun, according to the media office at the Presidential Palace, welcomed “any Egyptian effort to help stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon and restore stability.”
On Monday, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa explained that the visit of the Egyptian intelligence chief falls within the framework of security and political coordination with Lebanon, adding that the developments in the scope and pace of Israeli attacks call for caution.