Contacts Between FPM, Lebanese Forces to Protect ‘Maarab Understanding’

LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)
LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)
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Contacts Between FPM, Lebanese Forces to Protect ‘Maarab Understanding’

LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)
LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)

Contacts and meetings resumed between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces (LF) party in an attempt to revive already tense relations between the two largest Christian forces in Lebanon.

Ties became strained after the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in November, a position backed by the LF.

Information Minister Melhem Riachi, of the LF, and MP Ibrahim Kanaan, of the FPM, are tasked with the mission of repairing relations between the two sides.

The two officials were the sponsors of the Maarab understanding reached in 2016 to end nearly 30 years of disputes between the two Christian parties. The agreement led the LF to announce its backing of Michel Aoun for the country’s presidency. He was elected later that year.

An FPM official and former minister Mario Aoun told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that relations between both parties is not measured by the presence of some simple disputes, but by their agreement on essential issues.

“The FPM and LF relationship is bound by essential understandings that could not be overlooked,” he said.

The FMP position is shared by the LF.

“There are differences over some positions, but we already agreed to accept each other’s differences,” LF MP Joseph Maalouf told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The disputed files between both sides are countless, and include disagreements over issues related to the oil and electricity sectors, in addition to the issue of appointments in public institutions.

Despite revitalized relations, it does not appear that they would be sufficient for both parties to strike alliances for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May.

“The current agreements between the FPM and LF do not mean their translation into electoral alliances,” Aoun said.

He said that the new electoral law is capable of testing the electoral capacities of each party.



Israeli Officials Signal They Want UN to Remain Key Gaza Aid Channel, Says Senior UN Official

 Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Officials Signal They Want UN to Remain Key Gaza Aid Channel, Says Senior UN Official

 Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)

Israeli officials have signaled they want the United Nations to remain the key avenue for humanitarian deliveries in Gaza, the deputy head of the World Food Program said on Friday, noting the work of a controversial US aid group was not discussed.

"They wanted the UN to continue to be the main track for delivery, especially should there be a cease fire, and they asked us to be ready to scale up," Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN food agency, told reporters on Friday after visiting Gaza and Israel last week.

The US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas said on Wednesday that the flow of aid was one of the sticking points.

Israel and the United States have publicly urged the UN to work through the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning the group's neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

Skau said he met with Israeli authorities at different levels last week and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "did not come up in those conversations."

"I think there were rumors of the UN being pushed out, but it was very clear in my engagement that they want the UN to continue to be the main track in delivery," Skau said.

DEATHS

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume.

The GHF launched its operation, using private US security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, a week later.

The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded 615 deaths near GHF sites and 183 deaths "presumably on the route of aid convoys" operated by the UN and other relief groups.

The GHF has repeatedly said there have been no deaths at any of its aid distribution sites. The group said on Friday that it has so far delivered more than 70 million meals in Gaza.

The US State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the GHF, which touts its model as "reinventing aid delivery in war zones."

Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the group denies.

Throughout the conflict, the United Nations has described its humanitarian operation in Gaza as opportunistic - facing problems with Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza, and looting by armed gangs.

But the UN has said its aid distribution system works, and that was particularly proven during a two-month ceasefire, which Israel abandoned in mid-March.

The UN said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza during the truce and has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides.