Joseph Aoun makes the remark because the Lebanese military says it foils a rocket assault on Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says he is not going to be rushed to disarm Hezbollah underneath unfavourable circumstances because the Israeli army continues to launch lethal air strikes on the nation in violation of a November ceasefire.
In feedback to reporters after a gathering with a Maronite patriarch to mark Easter on Sunday, the previous military chief mentioned he considers disarming the Iran-aligned group a “delicate, delicate subject” that should be dealt with with consideration to protect nationwide peace.
“Any controversial home subject in Lebanon can solely be approached by conciliatory, nonconfrontational dialogue and communication. If not, we’ll lead Lebanon to destroy,” Aoun mentioned.
The Trump administration has been making use of sustained stress on Beirut to push for the disarming of Hezbollah, resulting in Aoun saying final week that he hopes to finish the method by the top of 2025 – the primary time a senior official has set any deadline.
Aoun’s feedback on Sunday got here shortly after the Lebanese authorities praised the military for foiling an imminent assault on Israel, a primary because the November ceasefire with Hezbollah, which Israel has violated on numerous occasions.
The Lebanese military launched photos of confiscated rockets and launch pads and mentioned it arrested a number of people beforehand concerned in rocket assaults on Israel as nicely.
The raid that led to the confiscated munitions was reported to have taken place within the Sidon space of southern Lebanon.
The workplace of Prime Minister Nawaf Sharif urged safety forces to “thwart suspicious plots that search to embroil Lebanon in additional wars” and mentioned this work proves that the Lebanese state is transferring in the direction of full sovereignty over its territory with its personal forces.
“The Lebanese state alone is the authority that makes choices concerning conflict and peace and is the physique authorised to own weapons,” he mentioned.
Hezbollah has not instantly reacted to Sunday’s statements, however its chief Naim Qassem mentioned on Friday that the group “is not going to let anybody disarm” it, particularly because the Israeli army continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah was shaped within the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and grew over the a long time to own substantial political and army energy. This included forcing Israel out from its occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000 and combating Israel to a stalemate in a 2006 conflict.
However the organisation has misplaced many leaders in Israeli assassinations in addition to a lot army tools because the begin of Israel’s conflict on Gaza in October 2023 and should withdraw its army forces from southern Lebanon as a part of the ceasefire.
Israeli air strikes kill two
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Well being mentioned on Sunday that two folks had been killed in two Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes fired at the least two missiles at a home in Hula, a village in Nabatieh governorate, killing one particular person, the ministry mentioned.
An Israeli drone assault additionally focused a car in Kaoutariyet as-Siyad, killing one other particular person, it mentioned.
The footage beneath, which has been verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking company, reveals plumes of smoke rising after Israeli air strikes focused the heights of the Iqlim al-Tuffah area of southern Lebanon.
مراسل الجديد: سلسلة غارات عنيفة من الطيران الحربي إستهدفت أطراف مليتا ومرتفعات إقليم التفاح@farhat_muhamad1 pic.twitter.com/8TMHLdc06q
— Al Jadeed Information (@ALJADEEDNEWS) April 20, 2025
The Israeli army mentioned one in every of its strikes on southern Lebanon killed a deputy head of a Hezbollah unit liable for smuggling weapons and funds to the group, together with throughout the nation’s border with Syria.
The military added that the focused man was “extensively concerned” in Hezbollah efforts to revitalise after the group took heavy blows in the course of the conflict.
After killing two other people on Saturday, the Israeli military additionally claimed they had been Hezbollah members.
