Lebanon has received western guarantees that Israel will withdraw from its territory and commit to a ceasefire, a Lebanese political source told The National.
In exchange Lebanon is expected to enter a "new phase” in which its army becomes the sole legitimate holder of weapons in the country, while Hezbollah has also agreed to disarm, the source added.
“If the US and French guarantees move forward, I estimate we can move on to the next phase,” the source said. “Our biggest priority is establishing a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal – before anything else.”
The source was speaking after a visit by US envoy Thomas Barrack, during which leaders in Beirut submitted a seven-page response to Washington's road map for Hezbollah's disarmament and Lebanon’s integration into what the US views as a new era of regional stability under western influence.
“The overall meeting that happened between [Lebanese leaders] and Barrack was much preferable to our expectations,” the source said.
He described Lebanon’s response to the proposal as acceptance of “a new opportunity and giving the Israelis an opportunity to [end the conflict]”.
He confirmed the response to Washington included a "plan for the army to secure and facilitate the state's legal authority over all arms in the country".
But despite the guarantees the source expressed some doubt, citing an escalation of Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory in the past week.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanon despite a ceasefire that ended 14 months of war with Hezbollah in November. The truce called for Hezbollah to begin disarming south of the Litani River in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Officials in Beirut have criticised the ceasefire deal as one-sided, claiming it has failed to stop Israel attacking Lebanon. Israel still maintains a military occupation of five points along the border separating the two countries.
While Hezbollah, a powerful political party and paramilitary force that suffered devastating losses in the war, has co-operated with Lebanese authorities south of the Litani, the US has increased pressure on the country's leaders to push for the group to lay down its weapons.
Mr Barrack’s visit, which promoted the US-backed road map, reflected what he has described as a “carrot and stick” strategy, linking Hezbollah’s disarmament to the end of Israeli military operations and US funding for Lebanon’s post-war reconstruction.
Lebanon’s political leadership has expressed broad agreement that the state should hold exclusive military authority. However, senior figures have urged the US to adopt a softer approach, citing the difficulty of making a case for Hezbollah’s full disarmament as Israeli attacks continue.
One western diplomat in Lebanon described the US proposal as “an extension of the ceasefire, driven by a medium and long-term vision for what’s needed to restore stability".
"It’s not about setting deadlines; it’s a parallel-track approach. As progress is made on one front, reciprocal actions are taken on the other."
Washington has made clear that Lebanon-Israel relations are not its priority following the region’s shift towards western influence, the diplomat told The National. “If the Lebanese choose not to engage, so be it. The reality is that Lebanon is not a US priority when it comes to normalisation. The real focus is Syria.”
Lebanon has been beholden to foreign influence since its inception. Hezbollah’s losses, along with an about-turn in Syria’s 13-year civil war that brought an Islamist government to power, have created a willingness to align with US interests.
At the same time, Iran’s influence in the region diminished. This has allowed Lebanon, caught between the US and its allies on one side, and Iran and its allies on the other, to move on from years of state paralysis.
All sources who spoke to The National requested anonymity due to the “highly sensitive” nature of the negotiations.
In an interview with Lebanese channel LBCI, Mr Barrack denied that Washington was imposing hard deadlines on the state to ensure Hezbollah disarms.
“There's no threats, there's no dictates," he said. "Look around you. The region is changing. Everything is changing. If you don't want to change, if the people don't want to change, just tell us and we'll not interfere.
“If Lebanon wants to just keep kicking this can down the road, they can keep kicking the can down the road but we're not going to be here in May having this discussion.”
A pro-US Lebanese politician echoed the urgency of the situation. “No one is going to wait forever for the Lebanese,” he said. “You’ve seen the tactical shift happening in the Middle East. Alliances are shifting rapidly. No one wants to see Lebanon fall behind.”
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
