France: Committed to Supporting the Rise of a New Lebanon

President-elect Joseph Aoun met on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (EPA).
President-elect Joseph Aoun met on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (EPA).
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France: Committed to Supporting the Rise of a New Lebanon

President-elect Joseph Aoun met on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (EPA).
President-elect Joseph Aoun met on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (EPA).

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to deliver three key messages during his upcoming visit to Lebanon on Friday, focusing on the nation’s sovereignty, economic reform, and preservation of unity. This marks Macron’s third trip to Lebanon following the 2020 Beirut port explosion, underscoring Paris’ ongoing engagement with Lebanon during its political and economic crises.
Macron will arrive in Beirut accompanied by a small delegation, including Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, parliamentarians, and individuals with strong ties to Lebanon.
His agenda includes meetings with President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam. Discussions will also extend to UNIFIL leaders and French and American officers overseeing the ceasefire monitoring team, focusing on Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and expanding the Lebanese army’s role in the region.
According to Elysee sources, France prioritizes Lebanon’s sovereignty, emphasizing the importance of empowering the state to control its borders, reclaim its territory, and implement UN Resolution 1701. Paris views the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) as central to this goal, providing them with equipment, training, and logistical support. Macron is also urging Israel and Hezbollah to adhere to commitments for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The sources added that France’s approach extends to engaging with regional actors. Barrot recently stressed to Syrian officials the need to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty, prevent smuggling, and maintain regional stability. These discussions echo themes raised during Mikati’s recent visit to Syria, as Paris seeks to address cross-border issues that threaten Lebanon’s security.
Macron’s visit also aims to address the role of Hezbollah within Lebanon. French officials encourage the group to transition into a political entity, fully integrating into the democratic process. They argue that Hezbollah’s declining military capacity, exacerbated by regional changes such as the weakening of the Assad regime, presents an opportunity for this transformation.
Macron’s previous engagements with Hezbollah during 2020 roundtable talks emphasized disarmament and inclusion in Lebanon’s political framework. France believes this shift is essential for restoring institutional functionality and preserving Lebanon’s unity, the sources underlined.
Macron’s third focus is on Lebanon’s economic recovery. The sources at the Elysee noted that France is advocating for structural reforms as a foundation for rebuilding the economy, beginning with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Paris has made it clear that international aid depends on Lebanon restoring global confidence through transparency, anti-corruption measures, and economic restructuring.
While French officials did not confirm plans for an international conference to aid Lebanon, they indicated that Paris is prepared to mobilize global support if reforms are implemented. France also continues to coordinate closely with Saudi Arabia and the United States to develop a shared vision for Lebanon’s recovery, the sources concluded.

 

 



Hamas Says Ready to Free All Hostages at Once in Gaza Truce Phase Two

 A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)
A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)
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Hamas Says Ready to Free All Hostages at Once in Gaza Truce Phase Two

 A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)
A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)

Hamas signaled on Wednesday that it was willing to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during the next phase of an ongoing ceasefire.  

Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing phase one of the fragile truce, which has held since taking effect on January 19 despite accusations of violations on both sides.  

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that talks would begin "this week" on the second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.

"We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages as in the current first phase," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.

He did not clarify how many hostages were currently being held by Hamas or other armed groups.  

Nunu said this step was meant "to confirm our seriousness and complete readiness to move forward in resolving this issue, as well as to continue steps towards cementing the ceasefire and achieving a sustainable truce".  

Under the ceasefire's first phase, 19 Israeli hostages have been released so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in a series of Red Cross-mediated swaps.  

Wednesday's offer came after Israel and Hamas announced a deal for the return of all six remaining living hostages eligible for release under phase one in a single swap this weekend.  

Hamas also agreed on Tuesday to return the bodies of eight dead hostages in two groups this week and next.  

After the completion of the first phase, 58 hostages will remain in Gaza.  

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that it would release the body of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz on Thursday. The group said Lifshitz was one of the hostages killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza.  

- 'Room to pressure Hamas' -  

Muhammad Shehada, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that after more than a year of devastating Israeli assault in Gaza, "Hamas wants to prevent the war resuming at any cost", albeit with some "red lines".  

"And one of those red lines is that they should continue to exist, basically, whereas (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's position is that they should dismantle themselves," he said.  

Since the start of the war, Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas's capacity to fight or govern, something the group has rejected.  

But the appearance that Washington is now in complete alignment with Netanyahu's government, as displayed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit this week, strengthened the Israeli premier's hand in negotiations, according to Michael Horowitz, an expert at the risk management consultancy Le Beck International.  

It gives Netanyahu "more room to pressure Hamas", Horowitz said, adding that US President Donald Trump "prefers that the agreement moves forward, but he's leaving the field open to Netanyahu... as long as the ceasefire is maintained".  

- 'Held onto hope' -

Among the bodies Hamas said it would hand over on Thursday are those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, who have become national symbols in Israel of the hostages' ordeal.  

The boys' father Yarden Bibas was taken hostage separately on October 7, 2023, and was released alive during an earlier hostage-prisoner swap.  

While Hamas said Shiri Bibas and her boys were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed this, and many supporters remain unconvinced of their deaths, including members of the Bibas family.  

"I ask that no one eulogize my family just yet. We have held onto hope for 16 months, and we are not giving up now," the boys' aunt, Ofri Bibas, wrote on Facebook late Tuesday following Hamas's announcement.  

Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four hostages are due to be returned on Thursday, although they have not officially named them.  

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has acted as go-between in the exchanges, called for a respectful handover of the hostages' remains.  

"We once again call for all releases to be conducted in a private and dignified manner, including when they tragically involve the deceased," it said.  

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, of whom 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.  

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.  

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,297 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.  

Since the war began, Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Gazans, some of whom have been released in previous rounds of hostage-prisoner exchanges.