After rocket fire directed at Israel and led to counterstrikes, Lebanon’s top security body has warned the Palestinian organization Hamas against using the country’s territory for purposes that might threaten national security.
Following a 14-month conflict between Israel and the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, the Higher Defence Council issued the warning on Friday as Lebanon was under growing US pressure to disarm organizations outside state control.
The country’s authorities are also attempting to establish their authority throughout, particularly in the south, close to Israel’s border.
According to Lebanese authorities, Israel has nearly daily violated the US-brokered November 2024 truce, including three airstrikes against Beirut as a result.
Lebanon should not be a launchpad for instability, the council’s president Joseph Aoun said in a statement, or it should be drawn into pointless wars.
The phrase “the utmost measures and necessary procedures will be put to end any act that violates Lebanese sovereignty” was added.
Aoun, who previously served as army commander, has pledged to bring all weapons under the state’s control, but he has acknowledged that the US has been pressing Lebanon to do, making it “diculous” to disarm it.
The council’s secretary-general, Mohammad al-Mustafa, told reporters on Friday that while Aoun emphasized the importance of Palestinian rights, he also emphasized that Lebanese stability should not be compromised.
Hamas has a long history in Lebanon, including in camps that house tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees who have been there for a long time and for whom Lebanese security forces have lacked authority.
After Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, when Israel launched a massive bombardment campaign in Gaza, Hamas fighters in Lebanon launched rockets across the southern border into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
In addition to the deputy chief of Hamas, an Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have since caused several Hamas commanders to lose their lives, including the group’s deputy chief in early 2024.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out deadly raids on Lebanon because of security concerns.
The Lebanese army detained Lebanese and Palestinian people accused of firing rockets at Israel on March 22 and 28 in an effort to address Israel’s and the US’s concerns, which brokered the ceasefire.
Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the attacks, despite the fact that no one has claimed responsibility for them.
A Lebanese security source confirmed to the AFP news agency that Hamas members had been detained.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply