Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instructed the Lebanese Army to confront any Israeli incursion into the liberated southern territories during his meeting with Army Commander General Rudolph Hekal on Thursday morning at the Baabda Palace. The President emphasized that this directive is for the defense of Lebanese land and the safety of its citizens.
General Hekal briefed the President on the details of the Israeli incursion that took place at dawn on Thursday in the town of Blida, which led to the martyrdom of Ibrahim Salameh, a municipal worker, while he was performing his professional duties.
President Aoun considered that “this aggression, which is part of a series of aggressive Israeli practices, came shortly after the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities (the Mechanism). The committee should not be content with merely recording the facts, but rather must work to put an end to them by pressuring Israel and compelling it to abide by the provisions of last November’s agreement and cease its violations of Lebanese sovereignty.”
On another matter, President Aoun was briefed by General Hekal on the results of the ongoing investigations into the killing of the young man Elio Abu Hanna by gunmen in the Shatila camp. This follows the surrender of six of those accused of participating in the shooting.
President Aoun stressed the “necessity of continuing the investigations to uncover the truth,” while simultaneously urging the security forces to “intensify their efforts to prevent armed displays and pursue the perpetrators and those involved.”
Source: National News Agency (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)
