The Lebanese Army wants to avoid confrontation with Hezbollah at all costs, explained a journalist.

At the time of the fragile truce in Lebanon, which came into effect on Thursday, April 16, the death toll from the war is over 2,100 (including an unknown number of Hezbollah fighters), with several dozen villages destroyed in the south of the country. “You have a country in pieces and an Israeli army occupying the territory deeply, with the possibility to continue bombing as it deems necessary. So, it’s a real freedom of action in Lebanon,” commented Anthony Samrani, editor-in-chief at the French-speaking Lebanese daily newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour on Friday, April 17.

The journalist fears that the fighting may resume soon, wondering if this lull is not only due to “essentially American considerations,” namely, “Donald Trump’s desire to say: ‘I have taken charge of the Lebanese issue. I will also achieve a victory’.”

Donald Trump’s invitation

If Anthony Samrani considers this fragile agreement “very, very much in Israel’s favor,” the U.S. president is facing backlash from his camp in the United States over his previously unwavering support for Israel.

Thus, after imposing a ceasefire on Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not have time to present this decision to the Security Council, Donald Trump announced that he would “invite” the Israeli Prime Minister and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House very soon. “If it’s just for the photo, it will put the Lebanese party in total embarrassment,” reacted the journalist from L’Orient-Le Jour.

Hezbollah’s disarmament, a “technical and political issue”

Lebanon will continue to face the occupation of its territory by the Israeli army as long as it does not disarm Hezbollah. “There is a technical issue and a political issue,” the journalist believes. “This operation would be bloody, complicated, difficult and lengthy as the Israelis are very impatient. There is also a real political problem, that is, there is no unanimity in Lebanon today on the political will to disarm. So you have a Prime Minister who is willing, who wants to do it, and you have a Lebanese army which, unfortunately, is not yet on the same page. You have a Lebanese army that absolutely wants to avoid confrontation.”

In the broader negotiation between Iranians, Americans, and Israelis, Lebanon has been invited for direct negotiations to achieve this ceasefire. “It’s rather good news,” commented Anthony Samrani. “Moreover, there is clearly a desire from Israel to separate the Iranian front from the Lebanese front and there is a desire from the Americans to achieve a diplomatic victory in Lebanon. While in Iran, at least from what we have observed in recent hours, negotiations are not going in the right direction. Lebanon remains tied to a regional issue that surpasses it.”