Lebanon focuses army on southern border
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally and the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), called on his country’s military and security wings to “closely monitor” the border with Israel on Tuesday, the Lebanese news agency Naharnet reported.
After Operation Northern Shield was launched by the IDF earlier Tuesday, the president held a series of phone calls involving Lebanese parliament speakers, the prime minister-designate and the army commander of the LAF, according to the National News Agency.
In a related speech, Aoun spoke about strife within the Lebanese government, and referenced Operation Northern Shield, Naharnet reported. He called on Lebanon’s leaders to “understand the severity of the situation that the country is going through amid the hostile practices and increasing threats, in addition to the financial and economic damage we are facing.
An official from the Axis-of-Resistance – an Iran-backed group consisting of Syrian officials, Iraqi Shi’ite militias, Hezbollah members and others – speaking anonymously, said the Hezbollah military is “on high alert to confront any possible Israeli aggression.”
Hezbollah officials said on Tuesday that the “escalation” from the IDF’s operation on Lebanon’s southern border should create urgency in finalizing the government’s cabinet formation, the Lebanese Daily Star reported. That would give the Lebanese parliament the ability to swiftly declare and go to war, in case of further escalation by the IDF.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon released a statement Tuesday regarding Operation Northern Shield, saying “UNIFIL was informed by the IDF this morning that they have started activities south of the Blue Line to look for suspected tunnels.
“UNIFIL’s liaison teams are operating on both sides of the Blue Line. UNIFIL monitors the Blue Line around-theclock and reports all violations of the UN Security Council resolution 1701, which forms the core of UNIFIL’s mandate.”
Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Israel provided no evidence of cross-border attack tunnels in the meeting.
“The Israelis did not present any information” at Wednesday’s meeting with the Lebanese army and UNIFIL, a statement from Berri’s office said.
Anna Ahronheim and Reuters contributed to this report.