Beirut defends Aoun after image with top Israeli Druze leader sparks controversy

A photograph showing Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shaking hands with the spiritual leader of Israel's Druze community has gone viral, prompting outrage in Lebanon.

The circulation of the image led to a swift statement from the presidency distancing Aoun from the Israeli cleric and accusing Israeli media of attempting to sow discord.

The photograph, published on Sunday by Israel's public broadcaster Kan, captured Aoun greeting Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif during the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

The caption read: "An image you don’t see every day", and was widely interpreted as an intentional provocation, given Lebanon's ban on contact with Israeli nationals.

In Lebanon, where engaging with Israeli officials is both illegal and politically explosive, there was public outrage after the image circulated online, many viewing it as a serious misstep at a time of heightened tension between the two countries.

In response, Aoun's office released a statement on Monday, claiming the president did not know who Sheikh Tarif was and had not intended to interact with any Israeli figures.

"The president does not know [Sheikh Tarif] and has never met him before," the statement said. "The Israeli Broadcasting Authority deliberately distributed the photo with a caption that contradicts the truth. There is no need to promote such lies and serve the Israeli enemy."

The statement prompted prominent Lebanese Druze politician Wiam Wahhab to claim in a post on X that "[no one] in the world doesn't know who Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif is - especially President Aoun", implying scepticism toward the official denial.

Wahhab further commented that the presidential statement "appears to be the result of pressure from those unsettled by the sheikh’s global standing", suggesting that domestic political sensitivities, likely including Hezbollah's influence, drove the official reaction.

The controversy comes amid ongoing Israeli military attacks in southern Lebanon. Just hours before the image surfaced, a Lebanese soldier was injured in an Israeli drone strike, one of hundreds of cross-border incidents recorded since a ceasefire took effect in November last year.

Nearly 200 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon during that time, according to official figures.

The timing of the photograph's release has also raised eyebrows regionally, as Israel continues to escalate pressure on the Syrian government over the country's Druze population.

In recent weeks, Israeli officials have expressed support for Druze separatist factions in Syria and threatened further military action "to protect" the community.

Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif has expressed openness to turning to Israel for the protection of Druze communities in Syria.

By contrast, Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who recently met with Syria’s new president Ahmad al-Sharaa, has stressed that the safety of the Druze depends on national unity and Syrian stability, cautioning against any Israeli intervention.