President Joseph Aoun says Lebanon must not be used as a launchpad for instability or be dragged into unnecessary wars.
Lebanon’s top security body has warned the Palestinian group Hamas against using the country’s territory for acts that could undermine national security, after rocket fire towards Israel led to counterstrikes.
The Higher Defence Council issued the warning on Friday as Lebanon faces growing United States pressure to disarm groups outside state control, following a 14-month war between Israel and the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.
Lebanese authorities are also trying to establish their authority throughout the country, particularly in the south near the border with Israel.
Israel has violated the US-brokered November 2024 truce agreement on a near-daily basis, according to Lebanese authorities, including three air attacks on the capital Beirut.
In a statement, the council headed by President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon must not be used as a launchpad for instability or be dragged into unnecessary wars.
It added that “the utmost measures and necessary procedures will be taken to put a definitive end to any act that violates Lebanese sovereignty.”
Aoun, who previously served as army commander, has pledged to bring all weapons in the country under the state’s authority, but has admitted that disarming Hezbollah, which the US has been pressuring Lebanon to do, is a “delicate” matter.
Mohammad al-Mustafa, secretary-general of the council, told reporters on Friday that while Aoun highlighted the importance of Palestinian rights, he also stressed that Lebanese stability should not be compromised.
Hamas has a longstanding presence within Lebanon, including in camps across the country that host hundreds of thousands of longtime Palestinian refugees, and where Lebanese security forces have long had only limited authority.
Along with Hezbollah, Hamas fighters in Lebanon fired rockets across the southern border into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, when Israel began a huge bombardment campaign in Gaza.
Since then, Israeli air attacks have killed several Hamas commanders in Lebanon, including the group’s deputy chief in early 2024.
Israel has cited security concerns for its continued deadly raids on Lebanon, despite the ceasefire.
In a bid to address the concerns of Israel and the US, which brokered the ceasefire, the Lebanese army arrested Lebanese and Palestinian individuals accused of firing rockets towards Israel on March 22 and March 28.
No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Hezbollah has denied any involvement.
But a Lebanese security source told the AFP news agency that security forces arrested three Hamas members.
The council said legal proceedings would begin early next week against those detained over the rocket fire in March.