Lebanese president, army chief discuss troops’ role after framework agreement with Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday discussed the army's upcoming responsibilities with Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal following the US-brokered framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel aimed at ending the war.

A Lebanese presidency statement said Aoun received Haykal and was briefed on the outcomes of the army commander's recent visits to Türkiye and the UK, which focused on military cooperation.

They also reviewed the country's security situation and discussed the army's upcoming missions in light of the results of the Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations and the framework agreement to end the war in Lebanon, the presidency said.

On Friday, Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-brokered framework agreement providing for “a phased” Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory, beginning with two “pilot areas” that were not publicly identified.

The agreement does not set a timetable for the withdrawal, linking it instead to the Lebanese army assuming full security responsibility in evacuated areas and the disarmament of armed groups, with particular reference to Hezbollah.

While Lebanese officials have described the agreement as “a first step” toward restoring full state sovereignty, Hezbollah has rejected it as “humiliating” and “null and void,” arguing that linking an Israeli withdrawal to its disarmament crosses “red lines.”

Aoun praised the army's leadership, officers and personnel for their role in extending state authority, maintaining security and stability, securing Lebanon's borders and preserving civil peace.

“Campaigns of doubt and defamation” targeting the military institution and its leadership “will not affect its national performance, which remains committed to the decisions of the political authorities, nor will they undermine the confidence of officials and the Lebanese people in the army,” he added.

Since March 2, Israel's military aggression in Lebanon has killed 4,257 people and wounded 12,196 others, while displacing more than one million people, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some held for decades and others seized during the 2023-2024 war, while expanding its current ground incursion to more than 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.

Israel also occupies Palestinian territories and parts of Syria, and continues to reject withdrawal from those territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in line with relevant UN resolutions.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul