Lebanon's president says negotiating with Israel is 'necessary'
by Dalal Saoud · UPIBEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday it is "necessary" to negotiate with Israel, as Lebanon cannot remain outside the regional path moving toward resolving crises and establishing peace and security.
Aoun's remarks came as Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement began to implement the first phase of a cease-fire deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the two-year war in Gaza.
"We cannot stand outside the current regional path, which is one of resolving crises," he told a group of reporters. "We must be part of it, as it is no longer possible to endure more war, destruction, killing and displacement."
According to a statement, Aoun said the region is shifting toward negotiations aimed at establishing peace and security, and "this approach is yielding results."
Israel engaged in negotiations with Hamas because it "had no other option after trying war and destruction," he added.
On Monday, Hamas released all 20 remaining living Israeli hostages it was holding in Gaza out of 48 who still were captive since the launch of "Operation al-Aqsa Flood" on Oct. 7, 2023. Its military wing later announced that it can return the bodies of only four out of the 28 Israeli hostages who died.
Lebanon engaged in the war when Iran-backed Hezbollah decided to open a support front for Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023.
What began as an exchange of fire and artillery across the border escalated into a large-scale Israeli attack in September 2024, during which Hezbollah's top leaders, military commanders and approximately 5,000 fighters were killed.
Another 13,000 fighters -- out of an estimated 40,000 combatants -- were wounded, and much of the group's military capacity was destroyed.
The 14-month destructive war, which killed or wounded more than 21,500 people and displaced 1.2 million, should have come to an end when a cease-fire agreement brokered by the United States and France was announced on Nov. 27, 2024.
However, Israel has never fully halted its attacks and has continued to strike the group's suspected positions almost daily without restraint, killing an additional 300 people - including Hezbollah operatives and more than 100 civilians.
Although the once-powerful Hezbollah has been significantly weakened during the war, Israel has refused to withdraw from five strategic positions it continues to occupy in southern Lebanon, cease its attacks, or release Lebanese prisoners detained during the conflict. This has led Hezbollah to reject calls to fully disarm.
Aoun said Israel "continues to send military and bloody messages" to pressure Lebanon, even though Lebanon has abided by the Nov. 27 truce -- with Hezbollah refraining from retaliating against Israeli attacks and the Lebanese Army assuming control of the southern region and Hezbollah's weapons.
"Now, we hope to reach a point where Israel commits to halting its military operations against Lebanon, so that the path of negotiation can begin, because the course we are seeing in the region is one of dialogue and settlements, and we must not go against it," he said.
He added that "negotiation is necessary," noting that Lebanon previously reached a U.S.-mediated maritime border demarcation agreement with Israel under United Nations auspices in October 2022. That ended a years-long dispute over the ownership of offshore natural gas fields. Both countries have been in a state of war since Israel was created 1948.
"So, what prevents a similar process from being repeated to find solutions to the outstanding issues, especially since the war has yielded no results?" Aoun asked rhetorically.
In regard to disarming Hezbollah -- a key condition for releasing much-needed international and Arab funding for Lebanon's reconstruction -- he pointed to progress made by the Lebanese Army, noting that 80% to 85% of the area south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon "has been cleared."
"Weapons are not the main issue; it is the intention to use them that matters," Aoun said. "What's important is to neutralize the function of the weapon, and this is a matter that takes time. It cannot happen overnight."