Lebanon’s president visits south after Israel blows up strategic Hezbollah site
Joseph Aoun's surprise trip comes a day after US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks, initially set for next week, were pushed to October.
On Saturday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made an unexpected visit to the southern city of Nabatieh, located near a strategic Hezbollah position recently targeted and destroyed by Israel. Unannounced and accompanied by security officials, Aoun's trip aimed to show solidarity with locals in the area. The city, which had recently experienced fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, had seen a decrease in conflict since a US-sponsored framework agreement and a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran came into effect.
However, Israeli military actions in the region, including the destruction of underground fortifications on the Ali al-Taher ridge on Thursday, have escalated tensions. The blast, large enough to be detected by seismic monitoring agencies, reportedly killed at least 29 people, including 12 members of a single family. The Lebanese army expressed concern that Israel's actions jeopardize the implementation of the framework agreement, which seeks to disarm Hezbollah, gradually withdraw Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, and deploy the Lebanese army to the region in designated "pilot zones."
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- Lebanon’s president visits south after Israel blows up strategic Hezbollah site freemalaysiatoday.com
- Lebanon president visits bombed Nabatieh site: 'No new talks with Israel' middleeasteye.net
