Rabat – Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun is calling for direct negotiations with Israel as part of a proposal aimed at ending the escalating conflict with Hezbollah, while delivering sharp criticism of the Iran-backed group for pulling the country into a wider regional confrontation.
A government spokesperson said Lebanon was prepared to enter negotiations, but not while Israeli attacks continue. During a virtual meeting with senior European Union officials on Monday, Aoun outlined what he described as a path toward “permanent security and stability arrangements on our borders.”
Under the president’s four-point proposal, a “complete truce” would take place alongside the disarmament of Hezbollah and increased international assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces so they can regain control of areas experiencing tensions.
“At the same time, Lebanon and Israel would begin direct negotiations under international sponsorship to implement the plan,” the statement said.
Israeli officials have so far shown little indication that they are ready to begin talks, and the government did not immediately comment on the proposal.
Aoun warned that the conflict had already taken a devastating toll on Lebanon. According to the United Nations, more than 700,000 people have been displaced, including 200,000 children, while hundreds have been killed in Israeli strikes over the past nine days. “Some of them are on the roads. They have no shelter and not even the most basic necessities of life,” Aoun said.
The president also delivered unusually direct criticism of Hezbollah, accusing the militia and political movement of acting against Lebanon’s national interests.
Referring to Hezbollah as an “armed faction,” Aoun said the group gave “no weight to Lebanon’s interests or to the lives of its people” and was pushing the country toward “the collapse of the Lebanese state under aggression and chaos.”
The comments came after the Lebanese government declared last week that Hezbollah’s military operations were illegal, although the state currently lacks the capacity to disarm the group on its own.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese government on social media, saying it was Beirut’s responsibility to enforce the ceasefire agreement and disarm Hezbollah.
Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, said Beirut had not yet taken meaningful steps to disarm the group.
“At this stage, I’m not aware of any decision to enter negotiations to end this war,” he said. “What would end it is the disarmament of Hezbollah, and that is a choice for the Lebanese government.”
Although a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Lebanon in November 2024 with US and French mediation, it has largely failed to hold, with Tel Aviv committing multiple violations.
Israel has continued near-daily strikes on Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollah is attempting to rearm and rebuild its presence.
Two days after the start of a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, Hezbollah entered the war by launching rockets and drones toward northern Israel. The group said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ongoing Israeli strikes.
Aoun, however, described the move as a deliberate attempt to draw Israel into another military incursion on Lebanon.
Israel countered, claiming Hezbollah’s attack justified expanding its campaign against the group until they are disarmed. This has included, to date, air strikes and commando raids on civilians in Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah has said it will keep attacking Israel regardless of the consequences.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 486 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the latest escalation began. Israel says two of its forces were killed in combat in southern Lebanon.
For civilians caught in the crossfire, the renewed fighting has brought fresh fear and displacement.
Ahmed al-Halabi, a father of two from the Dahieh area of south Beirut, said he fled with his extended family in the middle of the night as missiles struck nearby.
“We were running away from the bombing. There’s no safety,” he told the BBC. “I have little kids, and the living conditions were already bad. You can only imagine how it is during wartime. I just want to keep my kids safe.”
Halabi and his family are now staying in a school in central Beirut that has been turned into a shelter.
“This is the second time my kids have experienced this, and they have developed psychological trauma,” he said. “The adults can live with this. The kids cannot.”