Lebanese President Joseph Aoun Departs for Washington to Meet Trump

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun departed Beirut for Washington on Saturday at the invitation of President Trump. He is scheduled to meet Trump and other senior U.S. officials the week of July 20 to discuss strengthening the ceasefire, securing Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and extending Lebanese state authority over all territory.

U.S. officials said Lebanese and Israeli negotiators concluded another round of talks in Rome and agreed on next steps for pilot zones in southern Lebanon. Under the June 2026 framework agreement, Israeli troops would begin withdrawing from those zones while the Lebanese army assumes security duties.

The agreement sets no deadline for full withdrawal and ties further steps to the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups. Israeli forces continue to hold a roughly 10 km security zone along the border. Lebanese state media reported new Israeli strikes on two towns in the Tyre and Nabatieh regions on Saturday.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah cell near Tebnit after detecting a drone. The war escalated into full-scale conflict in March 2025. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reported that more than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed and more than one million displaced since then.