BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday called for direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under international sponsorship as part of a new initiative aimed at ending the ongoing escalation.
During an online meeting with President of the European Council Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Aoun urged the international community to support the initiative and help implement its provisions.
According to the proposal presented by Aoun, Lebanon and Israel would begin direct negotiations under international sponsorship to implement a set of security arrangements aimed at restoring stability.
A statement released by Lebanon's Presidency reported that the initiative calls for establishing a complete truce and halting all Israeli land, air and sea attacks on Lebanon. It also includes providing urgent logistical support to the Lebanese armed forces.
Under the proposal, the Lebanese army would immediately deploy to areas that have recently witnessed tensions, take control of those areas, confiscate weapons, and dismantle arms depots, warehouses, and storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah based on available information.
Aoun also said the rockets fired from Lebanon toward Israel on March 2 were a "trap" set for Lebanon, warning that the incident appeared designed to draw the country into a broader confrontation.
What happened at dawn on March 2, with the launching of a few rockets from Lebanon toward Israel, was an "almost exposed trap and ambush for Lebanon, the Lebanese state, and the Lebanese people," Aoun said, according to the official National News Agency.
Also on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz criticized the Lebanese government, saying it had "failed" to meet commitments to disarm Hezbollah.
"It committed to disarming Hezbollah and must act to do so," he said during a visit to Israel's Northern Command, where he met senior commanders and reviewed attack plans against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
The development came as the region was spiraling into a wider conflict triggered by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28.
On March 2, Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, 2024, prompting the government to ban its security and military activities, limiting it to political work and obligating it to hand over its weapons.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched what it described as an "offensive military campaign" against Hezbollah, carrying out intense airstrikes on multiple Lebanese areas and border ground incursions, accompanied by warnings for residents to evacuate areas south of the Litani River and Beirut's southern suburbs. ■
