Lebanese cabinet to meet in Tyre, army chief to present deployment plan

The Lebanese cabinet will hold a meeting in south Lebanon on Saturday morning where the army chief is expected to present the military’s roadmap for deployment in line with the ceasefire deal with Israel.

The decision to meet at the Benoit Barakat Barracks in the ancient port city of Tyre was taken during another meeting on Wednesday.

Tyre city and the district were repeatedly bombed by Israel during its ferocious offensive in Lebanon which dramatically escalated in September. A US-brokered ceasefire deal came into effect last week, although it has been shaky with continuous Israeli violations targeting in border communities.

According to the deal, the Israeli military has 60 days to pull out of areas it still occupies in southern Lebanon – where it claims it is clearing the area of Hezbollah installations – and Lebanese forces must move in simultaneously.

It also states Hezbollah must move its fighters and weapons north of the Litani River.

Local media said the decision to meet in Tyre was to send a strong message to Israel, and also to the international community that it was serious about implementing the terms of the ceasefire deal, in line with UN Resolution 1701.

Army chief General Joseph Aoun, whose term was renewed last week for an additional year, is expected to layout a roadmap for the Lebanese Armed Forces’ deployment, expected to be in the thousands.

Ceasefire committee meets today

Separately, the US-led committee overseeing the ceasefire implementation will meet on Thursday to formally begin its work after the arrival of the French member, Brigadier General Guillaume Ponchin, to Lebanon.

US Major General Jasper Jeffers will head the panel, which will include Lebanon’s Brigadier General Edgar Lowndes, as well as an Israeli and UN representative.

The committee is expected to curb Israel’s violations in Lebanon, which has been numbered at more than 100 since last week and has resulted in civilian deaths.

"A week has passed since the ceasefire and we are still seeing Israeli violations taking place, and I have sensed through my contacts with the countries that participated in reaching the ceasefire, particularly the United States and France, a keenness to address this issue," Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during the Wednesday cabinet meeting.

The cabinet is in caretaker capacity as the country has been without a president since 2022.

Speaker Nabih Berri scheduled a parliament session for 9 January to elect a president. Lebanon’s rival sectarian parties are scrambling to reach a consensus on the new head of state, but it is not yet clear if this will happen in the January session

Berri said he has invited foreign diplomats to attend the session, signalling seriousness in ending the presidential vacuum after more than two years of political stalemate.

Hezbollah’s opponents refuse any president that will give the group’s arms any legitimacy, disrespecting the ceasefire’s stipulations. Hezbollah in turn does not want a president hostile to it.