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Gulf states ‘ready to provide financial aid’ to Lebanese army for potential ceasefire agreement with Israel: Report
Arab Gulf states have reportedly said they are willing to financially support Lebanon in implementing a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Mediation efforts aim to deploy Lebanese troops to the south and keep Hezbollah away from Israel’s borders [Getty]
Gulf states have indicated they are willing to financially support the Lebanese army and finance watchtowers in southern Lebanon as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, a Lebanese publication reported on Saturday.
According to an anonymous diplomatic source, Nidaa Al Watan The newspaper reported that Gulf Arab states have announced their intention to finance the voluntary recruitment of 7,000 soldiers into the Lebanese army, as well as to fund watchtowers along the Lebanese-Israel border. .
According to the Nidaa Al Watanwill be carried out in preparation for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701 between enemy countries Lebanon and Israel.
On Friday, Israeli media repeatedly reported that the Israeli military is planning a possible ground invasion of Lebanon and that Brigadier General Moshe Tamir has been tasked with making these plans.
Tamir previously commanded the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli media, discussions within Israel currently revolve around a timetable for a possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Earlier this week, the Lebanese publication Al Akhbar Israel claimed to have set a March 15 deadline for Lebanon to reach a political solution, a claim later denied by the Israeli military.
Since the start of the Gaza war, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group has been engaged in violent cross-border clashes with Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Although the fighting has largely been contained in border areas, Israel has carried out airstrikes in recent weeks targeting fighters and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and Hamas far from its frontiers.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ended the month-long Summer War between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, but was never fully implemented. Western countries, namely the United States, are trying to broker an agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv to implement the UN agreement.
Washington’s push for a ceasefire includes fully demarcating the land border between Lebanon and Israel, deploying more Lebanese troops to the south, and pushing Hezbollah fighters several kilometers from the border. Lebanon’s cash-strapped government says it does not have the financial capacity to send so many additional troops to the south, but countries such as France have said they are ready to help.
Since 2019, Lebanon has been mired in an unprecedented financial and economic crisis due to decades of rampant corruption and misgovernment.
On Tuesday night, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, told a local television station that indirect negotiations to end hostilities on the border would begin in Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, which begins on Sunday.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to resort to military action if diplomatic efforts fail. Hezbollah, in turn, said there would be “no limits” to future wars.
As of March 5, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon had killed 290 people, including 228 Hezbollah fighters. Israel says only 10 soldiers and six civilians were killed, with many more injured, but Hezbollah believes the numbers are much higher.
Tens of thousands of people have fled on both sides of the border, a major concern for Israel, which is desperate to return northerners to their homes.
But residents have refused, saying they fear a ground operation by Hezbollah similar to Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7. Many Israelis have called on the military to deal decisively with Hezbollah, even with force.
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