Aoun to Ortagus: Southerners must be allowed to return, rebuild

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
28 Oct 2025 15:58

US Deputy Envoy Morgan Ortagus met with Lebanese officials in Beirut to discuss Israeli violations and efforts to stabilize south Lebanon under UN Resolution 1701.

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Deputy US Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, center left, speaks to the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on October 28, 2025 (X/ @Presidency)

US Deputy Envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, conducted a tour of Lebanese leaders in Beirut on Tuesday, arriving from the occupied Palestinian territories, where she had met with a number of Israeli officials on Monday.

On her first stop, Ortagus met with President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace, where, according to a statement from the presidential office, their discussions focused on the general situation in the country and the necessary steps to restore calm and stability to the southern region.

The Lebanese president further emphasized the critical need to reactivate the "Mechanism" for monitoring the cessation of hostilities, specifically to halt the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks against Lebanon, implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 in the south, and ultimately enable the Lebanese army to deploy at the southern international border fully.

President Aoun underlined the necessity of allowing residents of southern Lebanon to return to their homes and to rebuild their towns and properties, a priority that grows more pressing with the onset of winter.

According to a statement from his office, the American envoy's meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also addressed the field developments stemming from "Israel's" daily violations, and the work of the five-member technical ceasefire monitoring committee, emphasizing the need to reactivate its role.

Later on Tuesday, Ortagus is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Government Serail in central Beirut.

This visit coincides with a period of escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon, particularly in the south, which have resulted in dozens of Lebanese casualties since the beginning of this month.

Death toll of Israeli aggression mounts

Earlier on Monday, two brothers were martyred in a strike by an Israeli drone that targeted the town of Al-Bayyadh in southern Lebanon's Tyre district, according to Al Mayadeen's correspondent.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon during October 2025 have resulted in at least 26 deaths and 54 injuries, despite a ceasefire that has officially been in effect since November 2024.

A day earlier, on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that its troops had shot down an Israeli military drone that flew “in an aggressive manner” over one of its patrols in the Kfar Kila area near the southern border.

In a statement, UNIFIL said its troops “applied necessary defensive countermeasures to neutralize the drone,” describing the device’s flight path as hostile and a clear violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

Despite multiple visits by US diplomats to Lebanon, Israeli violations and attacks persist unabated, whether targeting civilians, infrastructure, rebuilding efforts, or UNIFIL troops.