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Hochstein: Only Lebanese Army Will Provide Security for People of the South

A handout picture provided by the Lebanese Army Press Office shows Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US special envoy Amos Hochstein at his office in Yarze, east of Beirut on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Army Press Office / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Lebanese Army Press Office shows Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US special envoy Amos Hochstein at his office in Yarze, east of Beirut on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Army Press Office / AFP)
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Hochstein: Only Lebanese Army Will Provide Security for People of the South

A handout picture provided by the Lebanese Army Press Office shows Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US special envoy Amos Hochstein at his office in Yarze, east of Beirut on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Army Press Office / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Lebanese Army Press Office shows Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US special envoy Amos Hochstein at his office in Yarze, east of Beirut on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Army Press Office / AFP)

US envoy Amos Hochstein said on Monday that he was happy to see the Israeli army withdraw from the western sector of Lebanon back to Israel.

In a news conference in Lebanon following meetings with top Lebanese officials, Hochstein said these withdrawals would continue until the Israeli army was completely out of the country.

The envoy met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun.

The Lebanese army announced Monday that its troops began deploying in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, as the Israeli army withdrew. This comes after Israel handing back two other southern towns, Khiam and Shamaa, since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect over a month ago.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the development.

The deployment coincided with a meeting of the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement in Ras al-Naqoura, which is home to the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission. The meeting was attended by Hochstein, who arrived in Beirut on Monday. Hochstein helped broker the ceasefire that ended the 14-month war.

The Israeli military started (its) withdrawal from Naqoura, most of the western sector and back into Israel proper today, Hochstein told reporters in Beirut following his meeting with Berri.

The Lebanese army will be the only entity who provides security for the people of south Lebanon,  Hochstein said.

After the deployment is completed in Naqoura, specialized units will survey the area to remove unexploded ordnance, the army said, urging residents to avoid the area and follow army instructions.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.