Bukhari meets Army chief ahead of Saudi envoy visit

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari met Thursday with Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal and discussed with him the army's deployment in south Lebanon following a decision by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, starting in south Lebanon.

The meeting comes ahead of a visit by Saudi envoy Prince Yazid Bin Farhan with a Saudi delegation. Al-Jadeed said Bin Farhan will arrive next week in Beirut with a high-level official, while LBCI reported that the visit would start on Monday.

Hezbollah on Thursday lashed out against the prospect of any political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, and insisted that it has a right to defend itself, following recent U.S. and Egyptian pressure on Lebanon's leaders to open direct negotiations with Israel.

The Lebanese government met later Thursday to examine the progress of its efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Despite the November 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up strikes.

Since the ceasefire, the United States has increased pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group.