Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is preparing for a possible historic trip to Washington where U.S. President Donald Trump may pressure him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a meeting that would be the first between the two leaders in history [1].
At the same time, Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon despite the fragile ceasefire established earlier in May 2026. Israeli forces aim to establish a security zone south of the Litani River, an area amounting to about 10 percent of Lebanon’s national territory [1]. The civilian population has been barred from returning home as Israeli forces conduct bombing and mass demolition operations in the region [1].
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has declared that the current operation's objective is to secure the area south of the Litani River [1]. Allegations suggest Prime Minister Netanyahu is using the stated goal of "destroying Hezbollah" to mask a wider campaign involving mass destruction and forced relocation of civilians in southern Lebanon [1].
The occupation of lands south of the Litani River is not solely a military objective but reflects historical claims made by early Zionist leaders. In 1918, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and David Ben-Gurion described "our country" as extending from the Litani River southwards to the Gulf of Aqaba [1]. This claim was reinforced in 1919 when the World Zionist Organization sought a Jewish state stretching to the Litani River at the Paris Conference [1].
During the 1948 war, Israeli forces seized villages inside southern Lebanon, including Hula, where they killed more than 80 villagers. The perpetrators received light sentences; one, Shmuel Lahis, was sentenced to only one year, later pardoned in 1955, and appointed director-general of the Jewish Agency [1].
The outcome of President Aoun’s potential meeting with Netanyahu in Washington remains uncertain, but it marks a critical juncture amid the ongoing occupation and tensions in southern Lebanon [1].