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Lebanon's President Stresses Urgency of Israeli Pullout from South

This handout picture provided by the press office of the Lebanese presidency shows Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on January 18, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the press office of the Lebanese presidency shows Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on January 18, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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Lebanon's President Stresses Urgency of Israeli Pullout from South

This handout picture provided by the press office of the Lebanese presidency shows Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on January 18, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the press office of the Lebanese presidency shows Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on January 18, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

Lebanon's new president Joseph Aoun stressed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday the urgency of an Israeli military withdrawal as stipulated by a ceasefire deal that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in November.
According to a statement by the Lebanese presidency on X, Aoun told Guterres during a meeting at Baabda Palace that continued Israeli breaches were a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the agreed ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire, which took effect on Nov. 27 and was brokered by the United States and France, requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, and for Hezbollah to remove all its fighters and weapons from the south.
Guterres said the UN would exert utmost efforts to secure an Israeli withdrawal within the set deadline under the ceasefire terms, according to the statement.
He had said on Friday the Israeli military's continued occupation of territory in south Lebanon and the conduct of military operations in Lebanese territory were violations of a UN resolution upon which the ceasefire is based.
Despite the deal, Israeli forces have continued strikes on what they say are Hezbollah fighters ignoring the accord under which they must halt attacks and withdraw beyond the Litani River, about 30 km from the border with Israel.

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Yemen’s Houthis Move Weapons to Saada to Avoid More US Attacks

A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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Yemen’s Houthis Move Weapons to Saada to Avoid More US Attacks

A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias have moved large amounts of their weapons to their main stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen to protect them against US strikes that have intensified on the Amran province in a bid to destroy the militias’ underground arms caches.

Informed Yemeni sources said the Houthis have moved rockets and drones from Amran to Saada in the north, fearing they may be targeted by US strikes.

Western strikes have already destroyed several arms depots.

The US conducted its latest strikes against Houthi positions on Friday, targeting the Harf Sufyan district in northern Amran bordering Saada.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi “weapons engineers and military maintenance” personnel moved sophisticated rockets and drones and other types of weapons to fortified caches throughout Saada.

The process was carried out in utmost secrecy and in stages to avoid detection, they added.

In Amran, the Houthis carried out a series of kidnappings against the local population, even its own supporters, on suspicion the people were collaborating with the US and Israel.

The US has carried out dozens of attacks on military positions in Harf Sufyan, destroying facilities that have been used to launch attacks against ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Harf Sufyan is considered the Houthis’ second major stronghold after Saada given its large area that spans around 2,700 square kms. It also borders four other provinces: Hajjah, al-Jawf, Saada and Sanaa.

Moreover, sources in Amran told Asharq Al-Awsat that Harf Sufyan is a major recruitment center for the Houthis, including the forced recruitment of Yemenis.

They revealed that the US strikes in the area dealt the Houthis heavy blows because they directly targeted their military positions, including a drone factory.

The sources suspected that the Americans intensified their strikes on Harf Sufyan after receiving intelligence information that the Houthis had dug tunnels and underground facilities there to hold meetings and recruit new members.