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Berri: Lebanon Refuses Israeli Demand to Stay in Five Southern Locations After Feb. 18

A military bulldozer opens a road after army deployment, for the residents of the Lebanese southern village of Rabb Thlathin to return to their town on February 9, 2025. (AFP)
A military bulldozer opens a road after army deployment, for the residents of the Lebanese southern village of Rabb Thlathin to return to their town on February 9, 2025. (AFP)
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Berri: Lebanon Refuses Israeli Demand to Stay in Five Southern Locations After Feb. 18

A military bulldozer opens a road after army deployment, for the residents of the Lebanese southern village of Rabb Thlathin to return to their town on February 9, 2025. (AFP)
A military bulldozer opens a road after army deployment, for the residents of the Lebanese southern village of Rabb Thlathin to return to their town on February 9, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon's powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday that Beirut rejected Israel's demand to remain in five locations in the south after the deadline for fully implementing a fragile ceasefire deal next week.

Israel's public broadcaster said on Wednesday the US had authorized a "long term" Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon, after sources told Reuters Israel had sought an extension to a Feb. 18 deadline to withdraw its forces.

Under a truce deal brokered by Washington in November, Israeli troops were granted 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon where they had waged a ground offensive against fighters from Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah since early October.

Hezbollah combatants were to leave the zone and Lebanese troops were to deploy in the area within the same period.

The initial deadline has already been extended from January 26 until February 18. A Lebanese official and a foreign diplomat in Lebanon told Reuters on Wednesday that Israel had now asked to remain in five posts in the south for a further 10 days.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN later cited senior officials in Israel's security cabinet as saying that the US had granted Israeli troops permission to stay "in several locations" in Lebanon beyond February 18. It did not specify a new deadline.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US, Israel's closest military ally, chairs a committee that oversees the implementation of the Lebanon ceasefire.

Later on Wednesday, Israel military jets broke the sound barrier over the Lebanese capital Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire was agreed.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, but the head of the Israeli military's Northern Command said he believed the terms of the deal would be executed.

"I think we will indeed reposition ourselves next week and the agreement will be implemented," Major General Ori Gordon said on Wednesday, according to Israel's GLZ radio.

Israel's military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X on Wednesday that Israeli troops remained in Lebanon after the first extension, and ordered Lebanese citizens not to return to their homes in the country's south "until further notice".

In a written statement, Lebanon's presidency denied reports that Beirut had agreed to a second extension and said President Joseph Aoun had "repeatedly stressed Lebanon's insistence on the complete withdrawal" of Israeli troops by Feb. 18.

The ceasefire deal ended more than a year of conflict between Israel's military and Hezbollah that was playing out in parallel with the Gaza war.

The fighting peaked in a major Israeli air and ground campaign that uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon and left the Iranian-backed Hezbollah badly weakened, with most of its military command killed in Israeli strikes.

Israeli forces have remained in parts of southern Lebanon and its air force has continued to carry out strikes across the country on what it says are Hezbollah weapons stores or attempts by the group to smuggle arms.

Hezbollah has said it does not accept Israel's justifications for staying in Lebanon and has urged Lebanon's government to ensure the troops leave. The group has not explicitly threatened to resume fighting.

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Arab World

Syria Joins a Donor Conference for the First Time in a Crucial Phase for Its New Leaders

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Syria Joins a Donor Conference for the First Time in a Crucial Phase for Its New Leaders

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition”, at the Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

International donors gathered on Monday in a show of support for Syria, hoping to encourage the new leaders of the conflict-ravaged country toward a peaceful political transition following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attended the conference — the ninth of its kind — in a first for a top official from Damascus.

But the United States, one of Syria’s top donors, wasn’t expected to offer assistance as the Trump administration is reviewing all foreign aid. It contributed almost $1.2 billion to Syria and the region last year.

Ministers and representatives from Western partners, Syria’s regional neighbors, other Arab countries and UN agencies also attended the one-day meeting in Brussels, organized in haste by the European Union amid change sweeping the country.

Opening the meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for 2025 and 2026.

“We call on all of you who are here today to do the same, if possible, because at this critical time, the people of Syria need us more than ever,” von der Leyen said.

Syria's new leaders are trying to consolidate control over territory that was divided into de facto mini-states during nearly 14 years of civil war, and to rebuild the economy and infrastructure. The United Nations has estimated that it would cost at least $250 billion to rebuild Syria, while experts say that could reach at least $400 billion.

At the same time, Western governments are cutting back on aid spending, in part to use in defense budgets.

“We will give more, but we cannot fill the gap left by the US,” EU Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told reporters. "We will need to share the burden.”

Security concerns are also making donors hesitate. Earlier this month, an ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to Assad triggered clashes. Some factions allied with the new government launched sectarian revenge attacks — primarily targeting Assad’s Alawite minority sect — that monitoring groups say killed hundreds of civilians over several days.

The EU said that it will only support “a peaceful and inclusive transition, away from malign foreign interference, which guarantees the rights of all Syrians without distinction of any kind.”

The 27-nation bloc has begun to ease energy, transport and financial sector sanctions to encourage the new authorities, but many other Western sanctions remain in place. The EU can reintroduce sanctions if things don’t go to the liking of Western backers.

Syria's foreign minister said that lifting the measures is no longer just a government demand but "a humanitarian and moral necessity.”

"We cannot talk about economic recovery and humanitarian development in Syria while restrictions continue to prevent even the arrival of medical equipment and spare parts to repair damaged hospitals and essential service facilities,” he said.

Syria's economy, infrastructure and institutions are in tatters. As a failed state, it could become another haven for extremists.

Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, urged donors to seize this opportunity to encourage the interim government to move in the right direction.

“It’s critical that countries take advantage of the moment we’re in,” Pope told The Associated Press.

“Of course, we all want to see an inclusive Syria,” she said. “We want to make sure there’s accountability for human rights violations. But the answer is to engage more, not to engage less.”

Syrians have only a few hours of electricity each day. Water supplies are unreliable and often unsafe. Unemployment runs to 80% or 90%. Destruction is widespread.

Many government employees and experts needed to rebuild fled after the 2011 peaceful anti-regime protests were violently quelled by Assad, leading to the conflict.

The UN refugee agency said that last year around 7 million people were displaced in Syria. More than 4.7 million refugees are registered in neighboring countries, most in Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan.

The German government said that it would pledge around 300 million euros ($326 million) to help deal with the fallout from Syria’s civil war. More than half will be used to help people in Syria, with other funding supporting Syrians and communities elsewhere.

Monday's conference was also focused on meeting Syria’s economic needs. Infrastructure, health and education must be scaled up. Jobs and cash for work programs are needed so that Syrians can start to make a living.