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Lebanese Army Commander in US to Bolster Cooperation, Counter-Terrorism Efforts

Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. (NNA)
Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. (NNA)
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Lebanese Army Commander in US to Bolster Cooperation, Counter-Terrorism Efforts

Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. (NNA)
Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. (NNA)

Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun kicked off an official visit to the United States to discuss with officials a number of issues related to counter-terrorism and military cooperation.

The trip is significant because it is taking place after the battle in the Lebanese northeastern border region of Arsal that saw the Lebanese army achieve a decisive and speedy victory against the ISIS terrorist group.

Aoun is visiting the US at the invitation of General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is set to meet with Dunford, as well as General Joseph Votel, commander of the US Central Command.

Aoun’s trip can be interpreted as a US message that goes beyond Lebanon, especially since American officials repeatedly stress that the Lebanese army alone has the right to defend its country’s borders and fortify internal stability.

Sources monitoring the visit said: “Aoun’s meetings will focus on joint cooperation between Lebanon and the US in combating terror and bolstering US military support to Lebanon.”

They revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun will discuss with officials the Lebanese army’s success in the Arsal operation and his vision of the military’s role in the future. This includes expanding its weapons, human and training capabilities.

He will present to US officials a list of the army’s needs, such as weapons and ammunition, that will assist it in its duties to protect Lebanon’s borders and internal stability, explained the sources.

Other sources revealed that a commemorative celebration will be held in Aoun’s honor at the National Defense University in Washington, one of the most prestigious military universities in the world. The Lebanese army chief had in 2009 attended a one-year international counter-terrorism course at the university.

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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they also treated two women in their 50s who were wounded in northern Israel.

It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.