BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 18, (v7n) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Beirut for Washington on Saturday for talks with US President Donald Trump and other American officials, marking the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the US capital since 2009.
The presidency said Aoun would discuss "the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire", particularly in the country's south, as well as "the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies".
The visit follows US-sponsored negotiations that began in April between Israel and Lebanon, aimed at reaching a peace deal and permanently ending the Israel-Hezbollah war. On June 26, the two sides reached a framework agreement in Washington under which the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army is to deploy, beginning with two "pilot zones". The agreement is contingent on the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has rejected the deal and the negotiations.
Following the latest round of talks this week in Rome, a US official said Israel and Lebanon "agreed on the structure and guidelines" to implement the pilot zones. A Lebanese military source told AFP that the army has begun intensifying patrols in several villages adjacent to areas occupied by Israeli forces, including Froun in the Bint Jbeil district, in preparation for implementation.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with strikes on Israel in support of Tehran. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion, and despite a ceasefire, continues sporadic attacks and holds territory in southern Lebanon as a "security zone". On Saturday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported fresh airstrikes against two towns on the edge of the security zone in the Tyre and Nabatieh regions.
Meanwhile, the US embassy warned Americans not to travel to Lebanon, citing "high tensions in the Middle East".
