A leading Trump administration envoy in the Middle East was in Lebanon on Saturday amid US pressure in the country to break Hezbollah as tensions with Israel Flare despite the ceasefire against US cease.
Morgan Ortagus, an alternate envoy to the Middle East of President Trump, met with senior officials after strikes in the last two weeks, threatened the truce in November.
The Lebanese government is trying to rebuild the country after the devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, where about 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon and about a million displaced. Hezbollah, the fighter team supported by Iran, which has long been a dominant force in Lebanon, was seriously attributed to the war, but still has a significant influence.
On Saturday morning, Ms. Ortagus met with the new Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, to discuss issues including the situation in southern Lebanon, according to a statement by Mr Aoun’s office. Under the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is supposed to take responsibility in the south of the country, where Hezbollah had long been established.
Last week, the fighters shot rockets in Israel, urging Israeli forces to bomb the outskirts of Beirut, the capital and the southern Lebanese. Israel later hit the area south of Beirut – known as Dahiya – in what he said he was aiming for a Hezbollah official, further increasing fears that the truce could collapse.
Hezbollah denied any relationship with the rocket fire. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah showed the appetite for returning to the full -scale war. The ceasefire continued to keep, at least for now, despite the tensions.
Mrs Ortagus and Mr Aoun also discussed continuous financial repairs by the new Lebanese government, according to Lebanese’s statement. Lebanese officials hope that the effort will help increase external aid – including the United States – to rebuild the country.
The total loss and financial loss from the war is estimated to be $ 14 billion and Lebanon needs $ 11 billion for rebuilding, the World Bank said last month, making the collision its most devastating collision, after 1990.
Experts say the amount of international aid is likely to depend on whether the Lebanese government can claim control in the country, including the disarmament of Hezbollah. Before the war, the armed group was so strong that it was generally considered a state within a state.
