Lebanon: Jumblatt, Nasrallah’s Aide Stress Need to Put Aside Differences

A file picture shows Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt addressing supporters at the House of the Druze Community in Beirut. (Reuters)
A file picture shows Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt addressing supporters at the House of the Druze Community in Beirut. (Reuters)
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Lebanon: Jumblatt, Nasrallah’s Aide Stress Need to Put Aside Differences

A file picture shows Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt addressing supporters at the House of the Druze Community in Beirut. (Reuters)
A file picture shows Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt addressing supporters at the House of the Druze Community in Beirut. (Reuters)

Following a long period of political rift between the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and Hezbollah, a meeting on Thursday brought together the PSP head, Walid Jumblatt, and the political assistant to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hajj Hussein Al-Khalil.

The two sides emphasized the need to put aside differences and to maintain dialogue in the next stage.

In comments following the meeting, which was held at Jumblatt’s residence in Beirut, the head of the PSP underlined the need for dialogue “to reach the minimum level of consensus on matters that serve the interests of the Lebanese people.

“There are points of contention between us that we have put aside,” he said.

For his part, Khalil described the meeting as “friendly and frank,” saying: “There was a common will to meet, based on the financial, economic and living conditions. We reviewed many internal matters of political, financial and social benefits.”

He added: “Perhaps there are major political headlines that we disagree about, but this does not mean that the Lebanese do not discuss major strategic points...”

The meeting, which brought together two archenemies in politics, comes a few weeks before the presidential elections and follows striking positions expressed by Jumblatt, who stated that a dialogue with Hezbollah and other components was necessary to build a strong state.

“I asked to meet with representatives of Hezbollah, in order to discuss some issues that have nothing to do with the presidency, for the sake of electricity, and for the establishment of a sovereign oil company…” he had said in earlier remarks.



UN Human Rights Office: 798 People Killed while Receiving Aid in Gaza

Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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UN Human Rights Office: 798 People Killed while Receiving Aid in Gaza

Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The UN human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded at least 798 killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups, including the UN.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid.

The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules.

"Up until the seventh of July, we've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys," OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva, according to Reuters.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites.