Earlier this week, a U.S. State Department official said that Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors will meet next week in Washington, D.C. JNS reports that the talks will focus on developing and implementing a trilateral framework to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty from Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah and ensure Israel’s security. Beirut is still seeking an IDF withdrawal as Israeli forces continue counterterror operations in southern Lebanon.
The combination of the United Nations General Assembly annual session in September, the Jewish High Holidays and Jordan’s King Abdullah’s LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) Conference in Paris made it impractical to conduct the meeting in Rome next week as initially planned, a source familiar with the subject said.
Jerusalem and Beirut signed a U.S.-brokered framework agreement on June 26, aimed at disarming nongovernmental armed forces across Lebanon, as a path toward lasting peace between the two nations. Ongoing talks have focused on the technical steps to achieve this purpose, with pilot zones designated for deployment of the Lebanese army, to test its capacity to battle Hezbollah and dismantle terrorist infrastructure.
Meanwhile on Saturday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited the municipalities of Nabatieh and Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, situated in southeastern Lebanon, just north of the security zone controlled by Israel Defense Forces.
He stated that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, the return of Lebanese prisoners and the displaced to their homes, and reconstructing areas devastated by the close to three years of war are “a single goal for all,” according to the Lebanese Presidency X account in Arabic.
Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the Hezbollah underground complex in the Ali al-Taher Ridge has been demolished, giving the IDF operational control of the area. At one point, it consisted of a network of tunnels stretching nearly three and a half miles.
A minor incident also unfolded this morning when a drone alert was issued in northern Israel near the Lebanese border. An interceptor was fired toward what was believed to be a suspicious target approaching Israel, but the incident turned out to be a false alarm. No injuries or deaths were reported.
The Fellowship and our supporters praise God for the IDF’s success in dismantling terror infrastructure as we pray for their, and Israel’s, protection. We also pray for wisdom and shalom, peace, to prevail in these talks.