Lebanon, Greece, Cyprus to Discuss Oil, Tourism at Upcoming Summit

Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti met with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides in Beirut two weeks ago. (NNA)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti met with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides in Beirut two weeks ago. (NNA)
TT

Lebanon, Greece, Cyprus to Discuss Oil, Tourism at Upcoming Summit

Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti met with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides in Beirut two weeks ago. (NNA)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti met with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides in Beirut two weeks ago. (NNA)

Preparations are underway to hold a Lebanese-Greek-Cypriot summit in Nicosia next March, after it was delayed from June 2019 due to political developments in Greece.

Diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that contacts are currently being led by foreign ministers of the three countries to coordinate between Beirut, Nicosia and Athens over issues expected to be tackled during the summit, particularly oil, tourism and security.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to visit Beirut Wednesday to meet with his counterpart Nassif Hitti and address the agenda and final date of the summit.

Dendias’ Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides had visited Beirut two weeks ago for the same purpose.

Lebanon had first proposed holding this trilateral summit, which according to the sources, aims to reach cooperation in tourism, commerce and culture, in addition to protecting the democratic model in the region.

In the past weeks, the foreign, economic and tourism ministers of Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus held several meetings to examine these issues.

During the discussions, Lebanon strongly spoke about the issue of Syrian refugees, which has up until now cost the country $25 billion, in addition to straining the health, environment, employment and housing sectors.

Reports in Beirut revealed that both Cyprus and Greece said they understood the challenges Lebanon is facing due to the refugees. They are exerting efforts within the European Union to provide financial aid for securing their return home.



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
TT

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.