US President Donald Trump’s administration approved $230 million for Lebanon’s security forces this week as they push to disarm Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said Thursday.
The Trump administration has approved close to $250 million in funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Internal Security Forces (ISF), Al Arabiya English reported.
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The funds will likely bolster Lebanese forces in their campaign to defang the once powerful Iran-backed terror group, which sustained heavy losses during its war with Israel that ended last November.
$230 Million Package to Strengthen Lebanon’s Security Forces
Democratic US congressional aides said the funds for Lebanese forces had been released just before Washington’s fiscal year ended on September 30.
“For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant,” one of the aides said on a call with reporters, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces. The budget would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security so the LAF can focus on other critical missions, he added.
The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment. The funding was released at a time when the Republican president’s administration has been slashing many foreign assistance programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer dollars is “America First.”
The release of the funds appeared to reflect the priority Trump has put on trying to resolve the conflict in Gaza and the wider region.
War with Israel badly battered Hezbollah last year — upending a power balance that had long been dominated by the Shi’ite Muslim group — and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
Since a US-brokered truce took effect last November, the Lebanese army has regularly collected caches of weapons and ammunition from the area south of the Litani River, from which Hezbollah has largely withdrawn, but the group’s heavier missiles and drones have remained hidden.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the US-backed army on August 5 to devise a plan to ensure that all arms across the country would be in the hands of security forces by the end of the year.
US President Donald Trump’s administration approved $230 million for Lebanon’s security forces this week as they push to disarm Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said Thursday.
The funds will likely bolster Lebanese forces in their campaign to defang the once powerful Iran-backed terror group, which sustained heavy losses during its war with Israel that ended last November.
Democratic US congressional aides said the funds for Lebanese forces had been released just before Washington’s fiscal year ended on September 30.
“For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant,” one of the aides said on a call with reporters, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces. The budget would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security so the LAF can focus on other critical missions, he added.
Israel continues targeting Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon
As the US approved funds for Lebanese government forces, Israel’s military announced that it had killed three Hezbollah operatives over the past day in drone strikes over southern Lebanon.
A strike in Kafra on Wednesday afternoon killed Ali Mohammed Qarouni, who served as Hezbollah’s local representative in the town.
Qarouni “acted to seize private property for the organization’s military needs, such as renting homes for storing weapons and conducting surveillance,” the army said.
A separate strike Thursday in Kfar Reman killed two more Hezbollah operatives, who the IDF said were engineering operatives involved in restoring the terror group’s infrastructure in the Mount Dov and Khiam areas.
Under the ceasefire provisions, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, though Israel has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic. It continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon in response to what it says are ceasefire violations.
Israel has said its strikes aim to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and to protect residents of its northern border area, and will withdraw from sites in Lebanon that its troops still occupy if Hezbollah lays down its weapons.