Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday accused Hezbollah of working towards the "collapse" of the state, after the pro-Iran group launched an attack on Israel, expressing Beirut's readiness for "direct negotiations" with Israel.Begun after Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel a week ago, Israel's bombing campaign has killed at least 394 people and displaced more than half a million.
"Whoever launched those missiles wanted to bring about the collapse of the Lebanese state, plunging it into aggression and chaos... all for the sake of the Iranian regime's calculations and this is what we have thwarted so far and what we will continue working to bring down and foil," Aoun told top European officials in an online meeting.
He added that the party's rocket launches "were an almost transparent trap and ambush for Lebanon, the Lebanese state, and the Lebanese people".
To stop the war, the Lebanese president proposed a four-point initiative and called on the international community to help implement it.
It included "establishing a full truce" with Israel, "logistical support" for the army to disarm Hezbollah, and "direct negotiations (with Israel) under international auspices".
