Lebanon’s military chief heads to US amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tension
The visit coincides with escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on the border and a foiled attack on the US Embassy in Lebanon.
BEIRUT, NEW YORK — Army chief General Joseph Aoun is heading to Washington next week, Al-Monitor has confirmed, amid the ongoing border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and rising domestic tensions.
The visit, which was also announced by the local LBCI news channel, is Aoun’s first since February 2023.
He is expected to meet with officials from the State Department and Pentagon as well as members of Congress, according to informed sources cited by LBCI. The discussions will reportedly touch on the US military and financial assistance provided to the Lebanese army.
On the Israel-Lebanon border tensions, Aoun and US officials will also discuss the role of the Lebanese army in the border area and US funding for increasing the number of Lebanese soldiers deployed there, LBCI reported.
The visit comes at a time of heightened tensions between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel that have raised fears of an all-out war in crisis-hit Lebanon. The two parties have been engaged in heavy cross-border fire since the war in the Gaza Strip erupted last October.
The Lebanese army has not interfered in the conflict, despite some Israeli attacks on its positions in the south. In December, one Lebanese soldier was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli artillery strike at a military site near the border. The Israeli army described the incident as an accident and said it had opened an investigation.
In March, a Lebanese army vehicle that was patrolling the border area with the UN interim forces in Lebanon came under fire from the Israeli side. No casualties were reported.
The United States has repeatedly warned against the expansion of the conflict in Lebanon and dispatched envoy Amos Hochstein to the region on several occasions since October in a bid to reduce the tensions on the border.
“We don’t want to see that escalation of the conflict, which would lead to further loss of life from both Israelis and the Lebanese people and would greatly harm Israel’s overall security and stability in the region,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday.
Miller also spoke about this week’s shooting at the US Embassy in Lebanon, saying that Washington “is in contact with the Lebanese authorities as they investigate the incident.”
On Wednesday, a Syrian man opened fire at the embassy in Awkar, north of Beirut, injuring an embassy guard. The gunman was also injured after the Lebanese army deployed in the area. At least five people suspected of involvement in the incident have been arrested.
Ed Gabriel, the president of the American Task Force on Lebanon, noted that Aoun’s visit follows calls from both Lebanon and Israel for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. The resolution, adopted at the end of the 2006 war, calls for the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces to southern Lebanon.
“A key component of this is an increased deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to the south of Lebanon,” Gabriel, a retired US ambassador, told Al-Monitor. “It is also important for the LAF to meet with key policy-makers to make the case on why US investment in the LAF is in the interest of the US.”
Gabriel added that it is his understanding that Aoun’s trip is an official visit at the request of the US Defense Department.
US support for Lebanese army
For the last 18 years, Washington has backed the Lebanese army to help it counter internal and external threats.
“Since 2006, US investments of more than $3 billion to the LAF enabled the Lebanese military to be a stabilizing force against regional threats,” reads the State Department website.
Following the 2019 financial collapse in the country, the United States has increased its aid to the army. In June 2023, Washington rerouted $72 million in assistance to Lebanon to help pay the salaries of Lebanese soldiers and police officers for a period of six months.
The army has also received US military equipment including armored vehicles.
Republicans in Congress have called for cutting US aid to the Lebanese armed forces due to Hezbollah and Iran’s influence in the country. In its 2025 budget proposal, the Republican Study Committee endorsed cutting off aid to the Lebanese armed forces.
“In countering Iran, it is vital that we prohibit US aid from going to Iranian puppet regimes in the Middle East. Lebanon’s government has come fully under Hezbollah’s control as the terrorist group has a monopoly on the use of force in the country,” read the proposal released in March.
The committee, which is an influential caucus of House Republicans, made similar proposals in 2022 and 2023.
In November 2019, the administration of former President Donald Trump froze security assistance to Lebanon, including more than $100 million for the Lebanese armed forces, for reasons that were not made clear. The hold was lifted the following month.
Gabriel said he hopes Aoun’s visit will convince US policy-makers of the importance of assistance to the Lebanese armed forces especially after the attack on the US Embassy.
Al Monitor
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