Lebanese army, US CENTCOM discuss developments, security annex implementation

Lebanese army commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal held talks on Monday with US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper and an accompanying delegation at his office in Yarzeh, southeast of Beirut, the military said.

The discussions addressed the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, the importance of “ensuring the success of the mechanism to implement a security annex to the framework agreement (between Lebanon and Israel), and ways to enhance future cooperation,” a military statement said.

According to the statement, Haykal thanked the US for its support and stressed the need to continue cooperation between the two armies “in a way that preserves Lebanon’s security and stability.”

The meeting came just three days after Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-brokered framework agreement that provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, beginning with two unnamed pilot areas.

Since March 2, Israel has been conducting a military offensive in Lebanon that has killed at least 4,247 people, injured 12,195 others, and displaced over 1 million people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.