Hochstein Heads to Beirut as UK FM Calls for ‘Immediate Calm’

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with MP Wael Abou Faour at the Grand Serail. (Government media)
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with MP Wael Abou Faour at the Grand Serail. (Government media)
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Hochstein Heads to Beirut as UK FM Calls for ‘Immediate Calm’

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with MP Wael Abou Faour at the Grand Serail. (Government media)
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with MP Wael Abou Faour at the Grand Serail. (Government media)

US special envoy Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Wednesday after holding talks in Israel aimed at easing the soaring tensions in the region.

Tensions have skyrocketed after Israel’s assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month. Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate, threatening to lead the region to full-scale war.

Lebanese officials confirmed that Hochstein had requested urgent meetings with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

A senior Lebanese official told Asharq Al-Awsat the envoy is seeking to calm the situation, while possibly relaying Israeli messages or proposals.

Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy telephoned Mikati on Tuesday to urge calm and demand an “immediate” end to the fighting.

He stressed the need for all parties to calm the situation urgently and immediately.

Mikati, for his part, expressed his gratitude to Britain’s “constant” keenness on Lebanon’s stability.

On Tuesday, the PM held a series of meetings at the Grand Serail to follow up on emergency plans should a wide-scale war erupt between Hezbollah and Israel.

A statement from his office said: “The main concern that is uniting all the Lebanese people is confronting the Israeli threats and ongoing attacks against Lebanon.”

He underlined the need for the international community and international organizations to perform their duties towards Lebanon and support it during these difficult times, especially since the country is already overwhelmed by the burden of Syrian refugees.

“The Israeli aggression and threats must act as added incentive for the Lebanese to unite and to refrain from side quarrels,” he urged.

MP Wael Abou Faour also met with Mikati. He said Lebanon is holding a series of political and diplomatic contacts aimed at averting the war.

At the end of the day, the solution lies in a ceasefire in Gaza, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Kataeb party politburo criticized on Tuesday the “government’s rush to cover the hefty cost of the displacement of tens of thousands of residents from the South and its blunt announcement that the international community was not being receptive to its demands for more funds to cover the potential losses.”

“This leads to a very obvious question: Wouldn’t it have been better for this government to have taken the initiative in the first place and prevent Lebanon from being dragged into a futile war, instead of lamenting the situation and pleading for help from all directions?” it added.

“Hezbollah is primarily responsible for the current situation,” it stressed, while criticizing the government for initially “yielding to pressure from the party and relinquishing its decision-making power and sovereignty of the state, and agreed to become a front for an armed militia that boasts of making plans and carrying them out to serve its interests and Iran, dragging Lebanon and the Lebanese towards the unknown.”



Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
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Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).

The Syrian Military Operations Administration has been pressing its security campaigns aimed at disarming former regime militia remnants and combating drug traffickers across Syria.

On Tuesday, for the third time, the administration, in collaboration with the General Security Directorate, launched a large-scale operation in western rural Homs. The campaign focused on the villages of Jabbourin Rafain, Al-Haysa, Jabbourin, Qaniyat Al-Assi, Tasnin, Kafrnan, Akrad Al-Dasniya, and their surroundings. Simultaneous campaigns were conducted in Aleppo’s Nairab district, Jaramana in the Damascus countryside, and northern Daraa.

Security sources said the operation in rural Homs targets “remnants of Assad militias who refused to surrender their weapons, arms depots, drug dealers, and traffickers,” according to an official statement from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Military reinforcements were dispatched to support the campaign in the targeted areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the operation in the village of Jabbourin in rural Hama marked the second such operation within a week. The observatory noted that several civilians and military personnel, including those who had reconciled with the government, were arrested. Some detainees were later released, while others remain under investigation.

Residents in rural Homs expressed significant concern about the proliferation of weapons, incidents of abductions, and the escalating fear of retribution. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, they noted a prevailing sense of unease and insecurity, as anonymous actors exploit the current chaos to fuel tensions and instability.

The General Security Directorate in Homs has urged residents in western rural Homs villages and towns to fully cooperate with its forces and the Military Operations Administration to ensure the success of the campaign’s objectives.

In Daraa, southern Syria, the Daraa 24 network reported that the General Security Directorate carried out a raid in the city of Izraa, north of Daraa. During the operation, large quantities of weapons were seized, and warnings were issued to individuals still in possession of firearms to surrender them “to preserve the region’s security and stability.”

An earlier security operation in the Lajat region, located between the Suwayda and Daraa governorates, resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals described as former regime remnants, drug traffickers, and arms dealers. The Syrian Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of “remnant elements and members of a gang involved in the theft of weapons from a warehouse in the Mazraa project area of Damascus.”

Meanwhile, the General Security Directorate released several former regime elements in Damascus after verifying their lack of involvement in violations against the Syrian people. According to local sources cited by Syrian Television, several conscripts detained in Adra Prison in Damascus were freed on Tuesday, with additional releases expected in the coming days.

Last week, the General Security Directorate released 360 detainees, including former regime officers, out of approximately 800 people arrested as part of the Homs security campaign. Following investigations, the authorities confirmed that those individuals were not in possession of weapons and had pledged not to engage in activities against the new Syrian administration.