BEIRUT, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's cabinet on Thursday ordered the immediate reinforcement of state authority in Beirut and the restriction of weapons to official forces, as it moved to tighten security in the capital amid ongoing Israeli escalation.
Following a session chaired by President Joseph Aoun at Baabda Palace, the government tasked the Lebanese Armed Forces and security agencies with strengthening the state's full control over Beirut and limiting the possession of arms exclusively to legitimate forces.
"Preserving the safety of citizens and their property requires immediate action," Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said, according to the National News Agency, calling for the decision to be implemented without delay.
The cabinet also decided to file an urgent complaint with the United Nations Security Council against Israel over its attacks on Lebanon.
At the start of the session, Aoun said Lebanon is intensifying diplomatic contacts to push for inclusion in a ceasefire and the launch of negotiations.
"We are tired of statements of condemnation," Aoun said, noting that Lebanon had hoped to be included in the ceasefire, but recent positions suggested otherwise. He added that he and Salam are engaging with "a number of Lebanon's friends around the world" to press for giving Lebanon the same opportunity granted to the United States and Iran to reach a ceasefire and move toward negotiations.
Aoun stressed that the Lebanese state alone has the authority to negotiate. "We will not accept anyone negotiating on our behalf," he said.
Lebanon received on Thursday a wave of international calls urging de-escalation and expressing solidarity, as Israeli airstrikes continue to intensify across the country, hitting Beirut, its southern suburbs, Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the south.
He also praised the coordinated response of state institutions following the latest Israeli attacks, highlighting efforts in medical care, evacuation, rescue operations, and debris removal, while noting that some responders were killed in the line of duty.
The developments come after the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement, but Israeli strikes continued across Lebanon, with the death toll from Wednesday's attacks surpassing 200 killed and more than 1,000 wounded, according to Lebanese health authorities. ■
