The warning by the country's top military body came after the Lebanese Army arrested a number of Lebanese and Palestinians suspected of firing rockets into northern Israel on March 22 and March 28. The rocket attacks provoked additional Israeli retaliatory strikes.
While no group claimed responsibility for the rocket firing and Hezbollah denied any link, security reports indicated that three Hamas members were among those detained by the Army.
Major General Mohamad al Mustafa, the Secretary-General of the Higher Defense Council, said after a meeting attended by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that Hamas was "warned against using Lebanese territories to carry out any action that harms Lebanon's national security."
"Maximum necessary measures will be taken to put a definitive end to any action that violates Lebanese sovereignty," al Mustafa said, reading a statement.
He said that legal proceedings will commence early next week against all those detained and anyone who would be proven involved with last month's rocket attacks will be prosecuted.
Aoun said during the meeting any attempt to "destabilize" the country, "involve it in wars" or "expose it to danger" will not be tolerated.
Salam emphasized the need for handing over "all illegal weapons" and preventing Hamas or any other factions to "destabilize security and national stability."
Both leaders, who came to power last January, have remained firm on their pledges to disarm all militias and impose the state monopoly on weapons.
Hamas has carried out several attacks from southern Lebanon against Israel during the Gaza war that broke out in October 2023. Israel on its part killed a number of Hamas leaders based in Lebanon, including the deputy head of the group's political bureau, Saleh al Arouri.
Lebanon has been trying to consolidate its authority and regain its long-lost sovereignty following Israel's recent war that greatly weakened the once-powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Mainly, 85% of Hezbollah's positions and military facilities south of the Litani River in south Lebanon already are being taken by the Lebanese Army and its weapons confiscated in line with the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement that was brokered by the United States and France to end the war with Israel.
The Army has also begun gradually taking control of some Palestinian positions outside the country's 12 overcrowded refugee camps located in various regions.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit Beirut on May 21 for talks with his Lebanese counterpart to discuss a mechanism for disarming Palestinian factions inside the camps and expanding Lebanon's authority.
UN envoy urges Israel to halt Syria attacks 'at once'
Damascus (AFP) May 3, 2025 -
United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen urged Israel Saturday to halt its attacks on Syria "at once", after it carried out multiple air strikes targeting the Islamist-led authorities following sectarian violence this week.
Fresh Israeli raids were reported overnight, after Israel said repeatedly that its forces stood ready to protect the Druze minority after sectarian clashes killed 119 people, mostly Druze fighters, according to a Britain-based war monitor.
Since ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria's new authorities -- who have roots in Al-Qaeda -- have vowed inclusive rule in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country, but they must also contend with pressure from radical Islamists in their ranks.
"I strongly condemn Israel's continued and escalating violations of Syria's sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities," Pedersen said in a post on X, calling "for these attacks to cease at once".
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 20 strikes hit military targets across Syria late Friday, in the "heaviest" assault carried out by Israel on its neighbour this year.
Syria's state news agency SANA reported strikes near Damascus and in the country's centre, west and south, saying one civilian was killed.
An Israeli military statement said its forces "struck a military site, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria". It did not give further details.
Firas Aabdeen, 32, a member of the security forces in Harasta near Damascus where one of the attacks hit, said he heard several "very loud" strikes and that a largely disused Assad-era military barracks was targeted.
The barrage followed an Israeli attack near the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz called a "clear message" to Syria's new rulers.
"We will not allow forces to be sent south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community," they said.
Israeli foe Iran, which propped up the now ousted Assad government, condemned the strikes, accusing Israel of seeking to "destroy and annihilate the defence, economic and infrastructure capabilities of Syria as an independent country".
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, also an Assad ally, said that the attacks were "a clear attempt to undermine" and weaken Syria.
- Israel army 'deployed' in south -
The Israeli military said it was "deployed in southern Syria" and "prepared to prevent the entry of hostile forces into the area of Druze villages".
Since the collapse of the Assad government late last year, Israeli troops have entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights and have carried out incursions deeper into southern Syria.
It was not immediately clear whether the Israeli army was speaking of a new deployment or how many troops were involved.
A Druze official in the community's heartland in Sweida province, said there had been "no deployment of Israeli soldiers" there.
This week, Druze clerics and armed factions reaffirmed their loyalty to a united Syria, following clashes between Druze fighters and loyalists of the new government.
The unrest in Sweida and the southern suburbs of the capital was sparked by the circulation of an audio recording attributed to a Druze citizen and deemed blasphemous. AFP was unable to confirm its authenticity.
- 'Directly interfering' -
The Observatory and Druze residents said forces affiliated with the new government attacked the towns of Jaramana and Sahnaya near Damascus and clashed with Druze gunmen.
The government blamed "outlaw groups" for the violence.
A de-escalation deal saw government troop deploy in Sahnaya and tighter security around Jaramana.
Israel's military said "five Syrian Druze citizens were evacuated to receive medical treatment in Israel overnight" after sustaining injuries in Syria.
The Druze official in Sweida said they were wounded "in clashes in Sahnaya" and feared being detained if they sought treatment in Damascus.
Middle East analyst Andreas Krieg said Israel was "directly interfering in the transition process in Syria".
Israel is using the Druze issue "as some sort of pretext to justify their military occupation" of parts of Syria, he told AFP.
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