Lebanese Armed Forces

He is advocating for a non-confrontational disarmament of Hezbollah to prevent his country from sliding into a catastrophic civil war.

And recently, there was that US-brokered framework where the Lebanese Armed Forces, the LAF, expanded slightly into the south of the country.

Right, they did.

But on paper versus in practice, that expansion feels like a bit of a mirage, doesn't it?

Hezbollah remains the resistance that is capable of bleeding Israel through attrition and preventing Israel from enacting, you know, its most nefarious designs upon this community, the Lebanese Shia community, whom Hezbollah purports to champion, to protect.

Quickly, David, in a conversation with Lina Khatib of the Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa program, you identify the Lebanese armed forces as not capable or not available to take charge of the border.

I think it depends on the area.

And 2006, and this is something Lina and I had talked about, the LAF did move to the border after 2006, but their mere presence did not make the area free of Hezbollah's arms.

In parallel, the situation in Lebanon is a focus, with UNIFIL preparing to withdraw.

The question remains whether the Lebanese armed forces can effectively extend state authority into the south, prevent a security vacuum and confront Hezbollah, a group Huckabee noted is still active and attempting to rebuild after being weakened by Israel.

He believes this transition for the LAF will be incremental.

Turning to Gaza, Reports indicate at least two people were killed in an attack in Gaza City.

in the Middle East.

Headline two, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Jordan's King Abdullah and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun yesterday as part of a broader effort to raise funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces, or the LAF, as we call them.

There was supposed to be a donor conference in February, but it was postponed when the war broke out and it took some time to reschedule.

With the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, otherwise known as UNIFIL, set to expire at the end of the year, the clock is ticking to shore up the LAF.

and his remarks followed government losses along Yemen's western coast.

In France, the leaders of France, Lebanon and Jordan met in Paris to discuss international support for the Lebanese army.

The talks addressed the creation of a new force to succeed the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, whose mandate ends this year.

In Syria, President Ahmed al-Sharrar said on Tuesday that the country's Tartus port could be an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

That's how much the explosion de- devastated the tunnels underneath.

However, Hezbollah, the owner of those weapons, is not in any fashion intimidated, and my understanding is that it's reawakening its intimidation of the Lebanese government, who seem to be, uh, one more time falling into, "What can we do?" The Lebanese Armed Forces, said to be disarming the Hez- Hezbollah, are brought into question because they turn in old weapons or pieces of weapons.

In other words, they're going through the motions.

Jonathan, the negotiation that took place in the US, is that futile now given the intention that we can see of Hezbollah?

That larger complex that you talked about on the Ali Taher Ridge, this was a massive underground, uh, infrastructure also destroyed by the Israelis.

They're doing what they need to do.

The question has always been, as they conquer territory, as they weaken Hezbollah, can the Lebanese Armed Forces, can the Lebanese government move in, secure, and control this territory so that we can return sovereignty to the Lebanese government? The dysfunction of the Lebanese government remains the most significant challenge here.

The will, I think, is still there, or at least the intent on the part of the Joseph Aoun government.