Lebanon ‘Will Not Allow’ Flare-up Along Southern Front with Israel

Lebanese soldiers near the Israeli border after people attempted to approach the crossing. (dpa)
Lebanese soldiers near the Israeli border after people attempted to approach the crossing. (dpa)
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Lebanon ‘Will Not Allow’ Flare-up Along Southern Front with Israel

Lebanese soldiers near the Israeli border after people attempted to approach the crossing. (dpa)
Lebanese soldiers near the Israeli border after people attempted to approach the crossing. (dpa)

A senior political source ruled out an escalation along the southern Lebanese border that could be an extension to the open military confrontation between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source said that Hezbollah had no interest in expanding the confrontation to the South, which has been witnessing marches near the borders in solidarity with the Palestinians.

The prominent politician confirmed ongoing coordination between the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) command, Lebanese Army and the ruling forces in the South, represented by Hezbollah and the Amal movement.

The Eid al-Fitr celebrations in the southern villages were not affected by the tensions witnessed in some border areas. Those areas witnessed limited confrontations between demonstrators in front of Fatima Gate in the border town of Kafr Kila and Israeli soldiers. Lebanese army units, in cooperation with UNIFIL, managed to restore calm to the area.

According to the source, the symbolic participation of Hezbollah in the protest movements had more than a political meaning, which was evident in the modest presence of party members.

Moreover, the firing of three rockets from the southern village of Qoleilat was only a message of solidarity with the Gaza Strip and would not lead to a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel, especially as the two sides have no interest in sparking a conflict in this area.

The source noted that any confrontation in the South would push Iran’s opponents to place the precision missiles, which Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah constantly boasts about, on the negotiating table.

The party wants to avoid such a scenario, according to the source, in light of the escalating political impasse in Lebanon over the stalled formation of a new government and the insistence of the Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai on the “internationalization” of the Lebanese crisis.

The patriarch has called for holding an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations to declare Lebanon’s neutrality, which would put Hezbollah’s weapons in the spotlight.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.