BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Thursday that Lebanon would not force refugees to return to Syria but called for more international help in dealing with the refugee crisis.
More than a million Syrians fled into neighboring Lebanon after war broke out in their country in 2011 and now account for about a quarter of its population.
As the Syrian regime has gained control over more territory, and as fighting has ended in more parts of Syria, some Lebanese politicians have called for Syrian refugees to return.
“My government’s position is very clear. Nobody’s going to force anyone to go back if they don’t want to go back,” Hariri said.
In a speech at a donor conference in Beirut calling for $2.68 billion in humanitarian aid for the crisis this year, Hariri warned that refugees would try to move to other countries if there was not enough support for them in Lebanon.
“We need more from the international community because we are doing a public service for the international community. Otherwise, these people, if we do not do more, if you do not do more, they will seek refuge somewhere else,” he said.
Separately, at least 20 civilians were killed Thursday in Syrian regime’s airstrikes on opposition-held territory in the country’s north, a war monitor said.
Elsewhere three children were reported killed in artillery strikes on opposition-held Eastern Ghouta, while state news agency SANA said seven people died in apparent retaliatory shelling of nearby regime-held Damascus.
The aerial bombardments in the north pounded several areas in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, where regime troops are waging a Russian-backed assault against opposition fighters and radicals.
“Regime raids hit two villages in the south of Aleppo province, killing 15 civilians,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In the neighboring province of Idlib, regime airstrikes killed five civilians in the town of Saraqeb, said the observatory, a Britain-based war monitor.
That broad region is held by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which is dominated by Al-Qaeda’s one-time affiliate in Syria.
Regime troops launched a ferocious offensive in late December to retake parts of Idlib and secure a key road leading from Aleppo south to the capital. Regime forces have made key gains, recapturing the Abu Duhur military airport and dozens of nearby villages.
Since it erupted in 2011, Syria’s conflict has morphed from a protest movement into a brutal and complex war that has left 340,000 people dead.
In an attempt to bring an end to the fighting, backers of opposing sides last year agreed to four “de-escalation” zones in the country.
Idlib makes up part of one zone. The other three are in Syria’s south, the central province of Homs, and the area of Eastern Ghouta, an opposition enclave near Damascus.
Hariri: Lebanon will not force Syrian refugees to return
Hariri: Lebanon will not force Syrian refugees to return
Aoun reassures Lebanon that risk of war is ‘fading’ in year-end message
- Israeli military spokesperson said it targeted 380 armed operatives, 950 military sites in Lebanon in past year
- Beirut’s southern suburb residents pledge to avoid celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday sought to reassure citizens in his year-end address, saying “the overall atmosphere remains positive and the risk of war is fading,” amid widespread concern over a possible Israeli escalation against Hezbollah.
Fear of renewed attacks followed Israeli criticism of a Lebanese Army weapons-confiscation operation that is set to enter its second phase at the start of the 2026. The plan include the expansion from areas north of the Litani River to the Awali River, after the first phase was completed south of the Litani.
President Aoun cautioned that this does not mean “completely eliminating the risk of war,” stressing that “work is underway with various friendly and brotherly countries to completely neutralize the threat of war.”
Addressing Internal Security officials, Aoun said that the “situation is among the best,” noting that this assessment has been echoed by foreign visitors to Lebanon, despite the strain caused by large numbers of Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
He added that security forces were fully carrying out their duties and solving crimes with notable speed, pointing to the successful visit of Pope Leo XIV earlier this year as further evidence of progress.
On Monday, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa stressed during a Beirut press conference that implementing “international agreements and resolutions, foremost among them the Nov. 27, 2014 agreement and Resolution 1701, constitutes the fundamental approach to sparing Lebanon further security tensions,” speaking of “dire consequences that could result from continued escalation.”
The Egyptian diplomat indicated that “there are no hidden warnings or threats directed at Lebanon, but rather a clear commitment to the agreements signed by the concerned parties, which must be fully implemented by everyone.”
The ambassador stated that his country, under the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is “exerting intensive efforts to reduce tensions in southern Lebanon and the region in general, through active diplomatic contacts led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty with relevant regional and international parties.”
Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee published on Wednesday a summary of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2025.
“The Army targeted approximately 380 armed operatives, including Ali Tabatabai (chief of staff), Hassan Kamal (responsible for anti-tank missiles on the southern front), Abbas Hassan Karky (logistics officer in the southern command), and Khodr Saeed Hashem (commander of the naval force in the Radwan Unit),” he said.
“It also attacked approximately 950 military targets, including 210 launch sites and weapons depots, 140 military buildings, and about 60 tunnel entrances,” Adraee added.
In the statement, he accused Hezbollah of committing about 1,920 ceasefire violations and said the military would continue its raids and targeting operations in the new year.
UNIFIL Com. Gen. Diodato Abagnara said in his end-of-the-year message that “UNIFIL will continue to support Lebanon and Israel in implementing their obligations under Resolution 1701, building on the stability achieved in 2025 and strengthening efforts toward a lasting peace.”
As part of the weapons restriction plan, on Tuesday, the Fatah movement — the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon — handed over a new batch of heavy and medium weapons from the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp to the Lebanese Army in four trucks, away from the media.
This is the second batch of weapons to be handed over from the camp, which is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It represents the fifth phase of the Palestinian weapons handover process in the camps, four of which were completed between Aug. 21 and Sept. 13, 2025, encompassing nine camps, including Ain Al-Hilweh.
The handover follows and implements an agreement reached between Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after the latter’s visit to Lebanon in May.
Abbas had announced “the Palestinian Authority’s support for the Lebanese state’s plan to extend its authority over all Lebanese territory, including the Palestinian camps.”
Hamas continues to refuse to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army, while Hezbollah maintains its weapons north of the Litani River.
The Lebanese Army implemented “exceptional security measures in various Lebanese regions on New Year’s Eve, with the aim of maintaining security.”
It called on citizens to “cooperate with the security measures taken to maintain public safety and prevent incidents,” warning of the consequences of firing weapons, which will be prosecuted as it poses a threat to public safety.
In another measure, authorities announced that gun licenses and traffic permits will be suspended until Jan. 2, 2026.
In Beirut’s southern suburbs, residents signed a pledge as part of an Internal Security Forces campaign against celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve, committing not to fire weapons in public and to report violations with photos or videos.
