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Hezbollah ready to discuss arms if Israel withdraws, report says

Hezbollah is ready to discuss its disarmament if Israel withdraws from the five strategic hills it is still occupying in south Lebanon, a report said.

A senior Hezbollah official was quoted as saying that the group is ready to hold talks with President Joseph Aoun about its weapons in the context of a national defense strategy if Israel withdraws from south Lebanon and stops its strikes and violations.

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Two French judges to visit Lebanon, meet Bitar over port blast case

A French judicial delegation will travel to Lebanon this month to meet with the judge in charge of the investigation into the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP on Tuesday.

"Two French judges will arrive in Beirut in the last week of this month," said the official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

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Rasamni tours Beirut port, denies reports of Hezbollah control

Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamni carried out Wednesday an inspection tour of the Port of Beirut after media reports claimed that Hezbollah is receiving arms and cash through the port.

In a press conference, Rasamni assured that "security at the Beirut Port is held with an iron fist," and warned against media reports saying otherwise.

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Israel says struck weapon storage in Hawsh Tal Safiyeh in Baalbek

An Israeli airstrike targeted on Tuesday night a building in the Hawsh Tal Safiyeh area in the Baalbek district.

The Israeli army said it struck a weapons storage facility belonging to Hezbollah's Aerial Defense Unit in the area of Beqaa in Lebanon.

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Lebanon judge refers ex-central bank chief for trial

A Lebanese judge on Tuesday referred former central bank governor Riad Salameh to court for trial over the alleged embezzlement of $44 million of the bank's funds, a judicial official said.

The move came seven months after Salameh was arrested in Lebanon over the case.

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Ortagus says Hezbollah 'cancer', hopes Lebanese would 'cut it out'

Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus dubbed Tuesday Hezbollah a "cancer," after she ended a diplomatic visit to Lebanon where she met with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

"The past ten years have been devastating for Lebanon, the financial crisis, the port explosion, and militias around the country, especially Hezbollah who has a state within a state," Ortagus said in an interview with al-Arabiya, blaming the Lebanese group and Iran for a devastating war with Israel with "catastrophic consequences."

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Western security source claims Hezbollah receiving arms and cash via Beirut port

Al-Arabiya television on Tuesday quoted a Western security source as saying that Hezbollah has “re-imposed its control over Beirut’s port,” following the 2020 catastrophic explosion at the facility that killed around 220 people and devastated swathes of the capital.

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Report: Aoun, Berri, Salam agree on state's monopoly on arms

President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam unanimously agree on the need for the state to be the sole bearer of arms in the country, without “any provocation resulting from the use of the term disarmament,” political sources said.

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Salam says Lebanon, Syria can 'turn over new page'

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will visit Damascus soon with a ministerial delegation to meet with Syria's new president Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Salam told Annahar newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday, that Lebanon can turn over a new page with Syria after a "good" call he had with Sharaa.

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Higher Defense Council tasked with 'devising plans' for disarming Hezbollah

The former government tasked the Higher Defense Council with “devising plans for removing weapons with the least possible damage” and Nawaf Salam’s government is “still endorsing the same plan and will not back down,” Minister of the Displaced and State Minister for Technology Affairs and Artificial Intelligence, Kamal Shehadeh, said.

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