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Lebanese President, US Ambassador Discuss New Sanctions

Lebanese President Michel Aoun. File photo
Lebanese President Michel Aoun. File photo
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Lebanese President, US Ambassador Discuss New Sanctions

Lebanese President Michel Aoun. File photo
Lebanese President Michel Aoun. File photo

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has discussed with US Ambassador Dorothy Shea a wave of new tighter US sanctions on Syria, a diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Shea on Thursday handed Aoun a letter that includes the text of the US Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which takes effect later this month, the diplomat said.

Shea stressed to the Lebanese president that the new law is on Syria, saying her country continues to back Lebanon, the source added.

The ministers of foreign affairs, information, economy and justice and their director generals, in addition to Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, met on Thursday to discuss the Caesar Act’s repercussions on Lebanon.

One of the conferees described the meeting as "consultative."

The Caesar Act targets companies dealing with Damascus. The sanctions are expected to worsen the already dire economic situation in Syria.

Syria's economy has been battered by nine years of war compounded by a financial crisis in Lebanon, which had served as a conduit to bring dollars into regime-held areas despite international sanctions.

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Israel Confirms Calling Up Reservists for Gaza War Expansion

Israeli armored vehicles take position on Israel's border with the Gaza Srip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
Israeli armored vehicles take position on Israel's border with the Gaza Srip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israel Confirms Calling Up Reservists for Gaza War Expansion

Israeli armored vehicles take position on Israel's border with the Gaza Srip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
Israeli armored vehicles take position on Israel's border with the Gaza Srip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israel's army on Sunday confirmed it was calling up "tens of thousands" of reservists to expand its war in Gaza, army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said.

"This week we are issuing tens of thousands of orders to our reservists to intensify and expand our operation in Gaza," Zamir said in a statement, adding the army would destroy all Hamas infrastructure, "both on the surface and underground.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Sunday to discuss the expansion of the Gaza offensive and a possible resumption of aid into the besieged enclave, two government officials said.
In a video message posted on the social media platform X on Sunday, hours after part of a missile launched from Yemen by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia fell close to Israel's main gateway, Ben Gurion Airport, Netanyahu said he was convening the security cabinet to discuss "the next stage" of the war in Gaza.
It was unclear if the ministers will give final approval at the meeting.
Already in control of almost a third of Gaza's territory, Israel has faced growing international pressure to lift an aid blockade that it imposed in March after the collapse of a US-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months.
Ministers have justified the blockade by saying that Hamas has seized aid intended for civilians and kept it for its own fighters or sold it, charges that Hamas has denied. At the same time, Israel has faced warnings of famine in Gaza as supplies run low.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported last week that a new plan was in the works by which aid will soon be distributed by private foreign companies, rather than UN agencies, in a new designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza area of Rafah, to which civilians would be moved after security checks.
New aid plans will be discussed at Sunday's security cabinet meeting, two officials said.
Aid has been a contested issue within the Israeli leadership and defense establishment for months. The military has pushed back against calls by some politicians who want Israel to seize Gaza for good and have Israeli soldiers hand out aid.