Middle East & Arab World Lebanon/Hezbollah/Israel November 2024-

Who is Joseph Aoun, the new president of Lebanon?
For the first time in two years, Lebanon has a president. It took two rounds of voting, but in the end, the country’s parliament tapped army chief Joseph Aoun.
Who is he? The 60-year-old career soldier has headed the army since 2017. He shrewdly kept his troops out of the recent and devastating 14-month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, the country’s most powerful armed group.
Aoun is a Maronite Christian, a requirement for the presidency in the delicate power-sharing arrangement between Lebanon’s Christian, Sunni, and Shia communities.
Among the candidates vying for the job, Aoun enjoyed strong support from the US and from Saudi Arabia, two key external powerbrokers.
His selection suggests Hezbollah, badly weakened by the war with Israel and unable to win support for its own preferred candidate, has lost some of its clout.
Joseph Aoun, the former Lebanese army commander, is country’s 14th president after a two-year vacancy.
(Al Jazeera) The 61-year-old becomes Lebanon’s 14th president, having filled a presidential vacuum of more than two years left by his predecessor, Michel Aoun – who is not related to the new president.
Joseph Aoun’s appointment overcomes a major impasse; Lebanon’s parliament had met on 12 prior occasions to vote for a president but failed to elect one.
Aoun’s support in parliament came from a wide spectrum of political figures, and he eventually won 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament in the second round of voting.
But who is Joseph Aoun? And why did it take so long for the Lebanese parliament to agree that he was the right person to lead the country?

2024

22 December
Prominent Lebanese figure meets Syrian insurgent who led Assad’s ouster, seeking better relations
(AP) — A prominent Lebanese politician held talks on Sunday with the insurgent who led the overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar Assad, with both expressing hope for a new era in relations.
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is the most important politician from Lebanon to visit Syria since the Assad family’s 54-year rule ended two weeks ago. Jumblatt was a longtime critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon and blamed Assad’s father, former leader Hafez Assad, for the assassination of his own father.
Ahmad al-Sharaa led the Sunni Islamist rebels who swept into Damascus this month. Now wearing a suit and tie, he has been meeting diplomats and others as Assad’s fall reshapes alliances and gives many long-stifled Syrians hope after more than 13 years of civil war and international sanctions.

Syria war to have ‘massive’ effect on Lebanon: US envoy Hochstein
The top Biden diplomat said a weakened Syrian government will make it difficult for Iran to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.
(Al Jazeera) The weakening of Syria’s government with the recent gains made by the opposition forces is going to have “massive implications” in neighbouring Lebanon, according to US envoy Amos Hochstein.
Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, the diplomat said Iran would find it difficult to transfer weapons to the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah.
“I think what’s happened in Syria, which of course, happened the day after the ceasefire started, is now creating a new weakness for Hezbollah,” Hochstein said. “It’s going to make it very difficult for Iran, who’s pulling out of Syria, to some degree, being able to transfer weapons in.” …
“Lebanon has internalised the weakness of Hezbollah on the one hand, [and] on the other hand, [Hezbollah’s ability] to fight Israel or to support the Assad regime has … diminished,” said Hochstein.
Hochstein also hailed Lebanon’s shaky truce, nearly two weeks old, stating that Israel’s work to “completely” pull out of Lebanon is “a great indicator” of its success.

26-27 November
Israel-Hezbollah truce holds, displaced Lebanese begin to journey home
UN’s Guterres says ceasefire is ‘ray of hope’
Iran foreign minister hopes truce will become permanent
Israel tells Lebanese not to return to villages on the border
(Reuters) – A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah held on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France as people in both countries began returning to homes in the border area shattered by 14 months of fighting.
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes into force with Biden insistent on ‘permanent cessation of hostilities’
Reports of cars heading south inside Lebanon despite Israeli army warning displaced residents not to return home immediately
A highly anticipated ceasefire aimed at ending the 14-month-old war between Israel and Hezbollah officially came into effect early on Wednesday morning, hours after Joe Biden hailed the “historic” moment.
The ceasefire officially began at 0200 GMT – 4am in Lebanon – after the heaviest day of raids on Beirut, including a series of strikes in the city’s centre, since Israel stepped up its air campaign in Lebanon in late September before sending in ground troops.
By 7am in Lebanon there were no immediate reports of alleged violations of the truce. Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Experts react: Israel and Lebanon have struck a ceasefire deal. Is the Israel-Hezbollah war really over?
By Atlantic Council experts
Piece by piece, they’re working toward peace. …[The ceasefire] comes nearly fourteen months after Hezbollah followed Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel with its own rocket strikes the next day. Since then, Israel has steadily weakened the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group, including by killing its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in September. Our experts share their insights on this ceasefire, which already faces questions about its durability, as well as its vulnerability to a maelstrom of other regional conflicts and antagonists, including Iran.
Israeli security cabinet approves Lebanon ceasefire deal, after 11th-hour strikes on central Beirut
(CNN) A ceasefire between Israeli forces and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah took effect Wednesday morning local time, according to a timeline laid out by US President Joe Biden, after Israel and Lebanon agreed a deal to end the more than year-long conflict.
Speaking earlier in the White House Rose Garden, Biden said the deal “is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” He said he had spoken with the leaders of Israel and Lebanon, and that both countries accepted the US proposal “to end the devastating conflict” between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Israeli security cabinet voted on Tuesday to approve the deal by a majority of 10 to one, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said, thanking the United States for its involvement.
A Few Thoughts on the Lebanon Ceasefire Deal
This is a good thing
(Global Dispatches) From the White House this afternoon, President Biden announced a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, which will … Under the terms of the deal, Israel will eventually withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and cease its bombardment of the country. Hezbollah, in turn, will withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and halt its rocket attacks into Israel proper.
This ceasefire is undoubtedly a positive development.
In the longer term, this ceasefire offers a chance to de-escalate after over a year of continuous tensions: between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel and Iran, Israel and the Houthis, and between the U.S. and Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria.
The significant fear that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah might lead to direct conflict between Iran and Israel was realized in recent months. Israel and Iran have directly targeted each other in unprecedented ways. The escalatory trajectory suggested the potential for more such attacks, even an all-out war that could draw in the United States. For now, this peace agreement appears to provide an off-ramp to that very dangerous outcome. Again, this is undeniably a good development.
Israel approves proposed ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah
(AP) — Israel approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
In the hours leading up to the Cabinet meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah in the final hours before any ceasefire takes hold.
Israel’s security Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement late Tuesday after it was presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

17 November
Israeli strike on Beirut kills Hezbollah media chief Mohammed Afif
Attack came without warning on day dozens killed in airstrikes in Gaza and Israel struck other targets in Lebanon
Hezbollah’s chief spokesman has been killed by an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, as Israel intensifies its air offensive in Lebanon despite ongoing indirect negotiations for a ceasefire.
Mohammed Afif, who has been the public face of Hezbollah for months, was killed in a strike on offices of the Ba’ath party in Ras al-Nabaa, central Beirut. The attack in the busy residential area came without warning, and appeared to damage to neighbouring buildings.
The son of a prominent Shia cleric, Afif managed the Hezbollah-run TV network Al Manar before taking over as head of the militant Islamist group’s media relations. Since the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, on 28 September, Afif became one of the group’s most prominent officials, holding several press conferences in Beirut.

14-15 November
Iran backs Lebanon in ceasefire talks, seeks end to ‘problems’
Iranian official, on Beirut visit, wants ‘solution’
Israeli steps up bombardment amid signs of ceasefire momentum
Shell hits UNIFIL headquarters, doesn’t explode
French peacekeeper dies in road accident
Diplomat assesses more time needed for truce but hopeful of one
(Reuters) – Iran backs any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a ceasefire with Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, signalling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Lebanese ceasefire efforts inch ahead as Israel keeps up fierce bombardment
US delivers draft truce proposal to Lebanon, sources say
Israeli demand of freedom of action is a sticking point
Lebanese officials say Hezbollah would withdraw from border
Israel bombs Hezbollah-controlled suburbs for 3rd day
(Reuters) – Diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire in Lebanon showed tentative signs of progress on Thursday as Israel pounded its northern neighbour including heavy airstrikes on the stronghold of armed group Hezbollah near Beirut.
Pressing its offensive against the Iran-backed group, Israel hit Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, carrying out intense attacks there for a third consecutive day.

13 November
Israel wants freedom to strike Lebanon even after ceasefire, France says
(Reuters) – Israeli officials are insisting on maintaining a capacity to strike Lebanon at any moment as part of conditions to secure a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah, France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Speaking to a parliamentary hearing after holding talks in Israel last week in Jerusalem, Jean-Noel Barrot said it was a condition increasingly voiced among Israeli officials.
“Today we hear in Israel voices calling for it to keep a capacity to strike at any moment or even enter Lebanon, as is the case with its neighbour Syria,” said Barrot, who held talks with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and new Defence Minister Israel Katz last week.
France, which has historical ties with Lebanon, has sought to play a role in trying to secure a ceasefire in the Middle Eastern country.
It has worked with the United States to try to implement a temporary ceasefire, but those talks stalled at the end of September.
Coordination between Paris and the outgoing U.S. administration to get a ceasefire has been more complicated since, with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein focused on his own proposals.

12 November
Cattle, crops and ancient olive groves: Lebanon’s farmers ‘lose everything’ to Israeli bombs
Thousands of hectares of fertile land, including olive trees that have survived for millennia, have been destroyed in the country’s agricultural heartland

6 November
Lebanon files complaint against Israel at UN labour body over pager attacks
Labour Minister Mustafa Bayram says 4,000 civilians were killed or wounded in the September attacks.
(Al Jazeera) Lebanese Labour Minister Mustafa Bayram filed the formal complaint at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said the attack was an “egregious war against humanity, against technology, against work”.

4 November
Israel claims to have killed another senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon
(The Guardian) Israel’s military has issued a statement in which it claims to have killed “a commander in the Hezbollah Radwan force’s anti-tank missile system.”
Naming him as Riad Rida Ghazzawi, the IDF claimed he “planned and executed a significant amount of terrorist attacks, including firing anti-tank missiles at Israeli civilians and at IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon.”
Lebanese authorities have reported over 2,800 dead in Israeli attacks on Lebanon in the past month.

2 November
Israel’s Peace Talks in Gaza and Lebanon: What to Know
Complex negotiations involving several players are proceeding on two separate but related tracks.
(NYT) Cease-fire talks are underway to resolve two related conflicts in the Middle East that have killed tens of thousands of people and threaten to spiral into a wider regional war.
On Thursday, top U.S. officials held talks in Egypt and Israel in an attempt end the conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Envoys from Israel, Egypt, the United States and Qatar also met in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Oct. 28.

18 October
Suspicion, resentment, trauma, destruction – Beirut on the edge
An Al Jazeera cameraman describes his crew’s attempts to report from Beirut, navigating the fear and anger palpable on the bombed-out streets.
No phones!” barks a burly man as he sails past us on his scooter. I’m out in the city working with Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Ali Hashem. His friend and fellow journalist who is with us, has just taken a picture of a beautiful old building, nestled among the usual shopfronts and apartments in a busy street in Basta, central Beirut.
Although the man is clearly a civilian – not an official of any sort – we are quick to heed his order. Our friend apologises and puts his phone away, but the angry man has already turned the scooter around and is approaching, demanding to see the phone and the offending picture.