Ortagus Discusses "Ways to Stop Israeli Violations" with Lebanese Officials

SadaNews - The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Morgan Ortagus, discussed ways to solidify the ceasefire along the southern border and halt the repeated Israeli violations during her visit to Beirut with senior Lebanese officials. This comes at a time when the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence, Major General Hassan Rashad, held parallel meetings that addressed the Israeli escalation and the security situation in Lebanon and the region.

Ortagus's visit comes amid escalating Israeli assaults in the past week, which resulted in the martyrdom of 15 Lebanese civilians. This is alongside what Lebanese political sources described to the "Arab Weekly" as "U.S. intimidation" regarding what is termed as the "final opportunity" before a wider aggression against Lebanon.

The United States continues to pressure Lebanon to accelerate the disarmament process of Hezbollah, and informed sources reported that the deputy envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Middle East discussed with officials in Beirut the "progress made" in the disarmament process and restricting it to the hands of the Lebanese state.

The newspaper mentioned that these warnings go beyond the scope of diplomatic pressure, as it quoted a source at the U.S. embassy saying that Washington "does not send threats but advises, and seeks to find solutions through diplomatic means," stressing that his country "continues to support the Lebanese army and official institutions."

Ortagus held a closed meeting on Tuesday morning with the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, followed by a meeting with President Joseph Aoun at Baabda Palace, before meeting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail.

Lebanese sources reported that the U.S. envoy's tour is taking place "away from the usual media coverage," and that she will head to Naqoura on Wednesday to participate in the meeting of the Committee for Monitoring the Ceasefire (the mechanism).

During her meeting with President Aoun, Ortagus reaffirmed her country's support for "efforts to restore calm to the south," while Aoun emphasized the "necessity of activating the work of the mechanism committee and stopping the ongoing Israeli assaults."

Aoun called for "enabling southern citizens to return to their homes and repair the damaged ones with the approach of the winter season." He added that "the security concern remains the most prominent in light of the repeated Israeli assaults, necessitating the completion of the army's deployment and the implementation of the government's decision to restrict weapons to the state."

In the same context, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam presented during his meeting with Ortagus the "work of the ceasefire monitoring committee and its role," stressing that "the goal of any negotiations is to implement the ceasefire declaration issued last November, especially stopping Israeli assaults and the complete withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories."

He added that "among the goals of this path is also to reach the release of Lebanese prisoners." Salam emphasized that "applying the government's decision to restrict weapons, whether south or north of the Litani River, requires expediting support for the Lebanese army and internal security forces through an international conference dedicated to this." He considered that "establishing stability in the south also requires support for holding a conference for economic recovery and reconstruction."

Alongside the U.S. actions, the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence began an official visit to Beirut, during which he met with President Aoun at Baabda Palace, in the presence of senior leaders of the Lebanese security apparatuses.

Rashad expressed during his meeting with the Lebanese president Egypt's "readiness to help stabilize calm in the south and end the troubled security situation," reiterating "Cairo's support for Lebanon in all fields."

For his part, Aoun welcomed "any Egyptian effort to help stop Israeli assaults on Lebanon and restore stability to its regions," expressing gratitude for "the support that Egypt provides in various fields."

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that President Aoun discussed with the Egyptian intelligence chief security and military files, coordination between the two countries, and ways to expand the atmosphere of the Gaza agreement and Sharm El Sheikh summit to include Lebanon.

Rashad's visit comes as part of parallel Arab and international efforts to consolidate the ceasefire agreement with Israel established in November 2024, which has exceeded four thousand five hundred violations and resulted in hundreds of casualties, while Israel still occupies five Lebanese hills it seized during the last war, in addition to other occupied territories for decades.