Lebanon's new govt poised to focus on reform, rescue

Lebanon's first full-fledged government since 2022, formed on Saturday after weeks of tough political deliberations following unusually direct intervention from the United States, is expected to focus on "reform and rescue" as cited by President Joseph Aoun.

In Beirut, new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the 24-member Cabinet, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, would prioritize financial reforms, reconstruction and the implementation of the United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended a previous conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and seen as a cornerstone to stability on the border with Israel.

"Reform is the only path to a true salvation ... The government must ensure security and stability by implementing Resolution 1701 and overseeing Israel's withdrawal, in parallel with reconstruction efforts," Salam said in a televised statement.

His Cabinet faces the task of implementing reforms needed to unlock funding from international donors after years of crisis, overseeing the Israel-Hezbollah truce and rebuilding the country.

Salam said he named his ministers after consulting with leaders in a country where power has long been shared according to sectarian quotas.

The new Cabinet does not include members affiliated with political parties, the National News Agency reported. It indicates no access to Hezbollah members.

"The members of the government are nonpartisan, but they will certainly be at the service of all the Lebanese," Aoun was cited as saying by NNA on Saturday. Political deadlock had left Lebanon without a president for more than two years until Aoun's election last month.

That was despite comments by US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus, who said on Friday the US considered Hezbollah's involvement in the new Cabinet a "red line" and thanked Israel for dealing devastating blows to the group. The comments drew backlash from many in Lebanon who saw them as "blatant interference" in Lebanese internal affairs.

"I hope this will be a government of reform and salvation," said Salam, who is expected to convene the first session of its Council of Ministers on Tuesday.

He also promised to follow up on implementation of the truce between Israel and Hezbollah and to ensure that Israeli forces "withdraw from Lebanese territory until the last inch".

The office of UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the government formation "heralds a new and brighter chapter for Lebanon".

Long an important force in Lebanese politics, Hezbollah suffered staggering losses in the conflict with Israel that saw its leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in a raid in September. More than a year of fighting has seen vast swaths of Lebanon reduced to rubble and more than 4,000 people killed.

Strikes continue

However, Israel continued to strike targets inside Lebanon over the weekend.

Lebanon's NNA reported that six people were killed and two others injured on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike near the town of Janta in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The Israeli army said the targets were what it claimed to be Hezbollah operatives "within a site for the production and storage of strategic weapons".

As tensions rose, several municipalities in western and central-southern Lebanon issued warnings to residents, journalists and visitors about the presence of landmines left behind by Israeli forces, some of which had been turned into traps targeting civilians, the NNA reported.

Hezbollah official Ibrahim Moussawi condemned such Israeli air raids earlier, calling them "a very dangerous violation and a blatant and explicit aggression".

The Israeli-Hezbollah deal for a 60-day truce ending on Jan 26 was extended for implementation, but Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities.

Agencies contributed to this story.