BEIRUT

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope on Monday for a “breakthrough” in his initiative to hold direct negotiations with Israel.

“No one expected that the war of others would once again take place on our land, a war with which we have nothing to do, neither directly nor indirectly,” Aoun said in statements during a meeting at the presidential palace in Beirut.

“Some are seeking support from abroad against others at home,” he added, without elaborating.

Aoun voiced hope that “a breakthrough will occur in the initiative we launched, so that we can stop the daily losses suffered by all Lebanese on their land, their livelihoods and their children.”

“There is no possible military horizon, and the longer we delay, the greater the damage and destruction will be,” he warned.

On March 9, the Lebanese president called for direct negotiations with Israel under international auspices as part of an initiative aimed at establishing a full truce to halt all Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

The initiative also includes providing logistical support to the Lebanese army to enable it to control areas of recent tensions, seize weapons there, and dismantle weapons stockpiles belonging to Hezbollah.

The Israeli army expanded airstrikes across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, on March 2 following a cross-border attack by Hezbollah amid regional escalation in the wake of a joint offensive by Washington and Tel Aviv against Iran.

Lebanese health authorities said that the Israeli attacks have killed at least 886 people, including 67 women and 111 children, wounded 2,141 others and displaced more than one million people.

Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some of them for decades and others seized during the most recent war between October 2023 and November 2024.