The international community believes that the Lebanese armed forces need to be reinforced so that they can protect the country and its people. This was stated in Beirut by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who held talks with the acting Prime Minister of the Republic, Najib Mikati.
"We must do everything in our power to strengthen the Lebanese army, which is deployed in the southern regions," he said. "It is now very important to provide the Lebanese army with military equipment to ensure the protection of the population."
Guterres said he visited Ras al-Naqoura on Friday, home to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. "I felt proud to meet the brave peacekeepers who carried out their duties under difficult circumstances in southern Lebanon," he said. "I visited one of the UN observer facilities that was hit by shelling during the last war. UNIFIL showed courage and heroism by continuing its mission to maintain peace and provide the necessary conditions for a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel."
Earlier, the UN secretary-general called it unacceptable for Israel to conduct military operations on Lebanese territory after a ceasefire agreement was reached. According to him, “this constitutes a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and must stop“.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced that 4,000 trucks with humanitarian aid are ready to enter the war-torn Gaza Strip after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and "Hamas" comes into force, BNR reported.
In addition, the Commissioner said that the agency will continue to fulfill its mission of providing humanitarian aid to displaced Palestinians, according to the Egyptian publication Youm7.
Earlier on Friday, the Israeli security cabinet voted "in favor" of the Gaza ceasefire agreement with the "Hamas" group and recommended that the government approve it.
Discussion of the agreement by the entire Israeli government is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority have said they will monitor the implementation of the deal.