BEIRUT:
Lebanon seeks guarantees that Israeli forces fully withdraw from Lebanese territory in response to a US demand that Beirut formally commit to disarming Hezbollah, a Lebanese official said Monday.
The Lebanese government official told AFP that in a recent visit, US envoy Tom Barrack had presented the demand for Beirut to officially commit to start disarming the Iran-backed group as stipulated in the November agreement, along with a full Israeli withdrawal.
President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and parliament speaker Nabih Berri — who is a key Hezbollah ally — “are preparing a response”, said the official on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.
Israel has continued to strike Lebanon despite the November ceasefire, claiming to hit Hezbollah targets and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group.
