Abdulsalam Fayez and Mohammad Sio<\/p>\n
22 August 2026\u2022Update: 22 August 2026<\/p>\n
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday to pressure Israel to implement a framework agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv, which was reached under US auspices.<\/p>\n
Aoun made the remarks during a meeting with Meloni in Rome on the second day of his visit, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.<\/p>\n
The two leaders discussed Lebanese-Italian relations and ways to develop cooperation across various fields, as well as regional developments, according to the statement.<\/p>\n
They also discussed the situation in Lebanon, particularly in the south, amid continued Israeli attacks and the need to pressure Israel to comply with the framework agreement.<\/p>\n
Aoun thanked Meloni for hosting the negotiations in Italy and for Rome\u2019s role in supporting security and stability in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Lebanon and Israel have held seven rounds of direct negotiations since April 14, five in Washington and the latest two in Rome.<\/p>\n
Aoun and Meloni also discussed arrangements for the period following the end of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon\u2019s mission (UNIFIL).<\/p>\n
UNIFIL\u2019s mandate in southern Lebanon is due to expire at the end of the year, with its full withdrawal expected in 2027.<\/p>\n
Discussions remain underway on the future of the peacekeeping force\u2019s mission in the country.<\/p>\n
UNIFIL has been present in southern Lebanon since 1978 in line with UN Security Council resolutions. Its mandate includes monitoring the security situation and ensuring stability in the area.<\/p>\n
Aoun also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and discussed Lebanese-Italian relations and regional developments, according to the presidency.<\/p>\n
The visit comes as efforts continue to implement the framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel under US auspices on June 26.<\/p>\n
Israel has continued staging relentless attacks in several parts of southern Lebanon, despite the agreement, which Beirut said are hindering the army\u2019s planned deployments.<\/p>\n
Since March 2, wide-ranging Israeli attacks have killed 4,348 victims and injured more than 12,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.<\/p>\n
Israeli forces remain present in several parts of southern Lebanon, some of which they have occupied for decades.<\/p>\n
Others were occupied during a previous round of fighting, in 2023 and 2024, when Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into sovereign Lebanese territory.\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abdulsalam Fayez and Mohammad Sio 22 August 2026\u2022Update: 22 August 2026 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Italian Prime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43,180804],"class_list":["post-592062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-sitekeywords"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}