Lebanon: No End in Sight in Cabinet Formation Impasse

 File photo. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visits President Michel Aoun (NNA)
File photo. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visits President Michel Aoun (NNA)
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Lebanon: No End in Sight in Cabinet Formation Impasse

 File photo. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visits President Michel Aoun (NNA)
File photo. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visits President Michel Aoun (NNA)

No major efforts are being exerted to make a breakthrough in Lebanon's government formation process, despite shy attempts by a number of politicians that have failed to yield tangible results.

In this regard, Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine said Tuesday that his party is holding talks with all sides over the government formation issue to remove obstacles hindering the formation of a new cabinet capable of facing Lebanon’s severe economic, social and financial crises.

Ezzeddine said the new cabinet must address the people’s needs by adopting reforms to fight corruption.

Meanwhile, sources from the Free Patriotic Movement and the Shiite duo said there no new developments regarding the cabinet formation process, affirming that there are no current talks between the political parties.

For their part, FPM sources blamed Hariri for the deadlock, saying there is no hope for talks to take place since Hariri is still traveling.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement supported Speaker Nabih Berri’s initiative.

“It became clear that until today, there is no decision to form a cabinet, particularly from President Aoun and MP Gebran Bassil,” the sources said, adding that the US and Arab countries support Berri’s initiative.

The sources were referring to the separate visits that Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made to Beirut last week to discuss the political and financial crises.



Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A building in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahieh was struck on Sunday almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the area.

The Israeli army's spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, earlier said on X that residents should evacuate several buildings in the Hadath neighborhood and move "at least 300 meters away.”

Residents reported hearing gunfire across the area, which they said they believed was intended to warn people to leave, as well as seeing a massive traffic jam on roads leading from the area.

"To everyone located in the building marked in red on the attached map, and the surrounding buildings: you are near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," Adraee wrote in a post that included a map of the potential targets.

The Israeli army said the building was being used to store precision missiles belonging to Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hezbollah's precision missiles "posed a significant threat to the State of Israel."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement struck in November, to compel Israel to stop its attacks.
"Israel's continued actions in undermining stability will exacerbate tensions and place the region at real risk, threatening its security and stability," he said in a statement.

Earlier this month an Israeli airstrike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official, in Beirut's southern suburbs -the second Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-controlled area of the Lebanese capital in five days.