US reportedly un-invites Lebanese army chief over statement blaming Israel rather than Hezbollah for tensions

The U.S. canceled a planned visit by Lebanon’s army chief Gen. Rodolphe Haykal in Washington this week over a recent statement blaming Israel, rather than the terror group Hezbollah, for recent tensions, according to Lebanese media reports.

Haykal had been set to meet senior U.S. officials and discuss military issues, including additional support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), which has recently claimed it struggles to fulfill its commitment to push Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon due to a lack of funds.

Lebanon’s MTV network said U.S. officials canceled the visit due to a recent statement by the LAF that attacked Israel over ostensible ceasefire violations without mentioning Hezbollah.

Statements by Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Joni Ernst appeared to confirm this.

Commenting on the LAF’s post on 𝕏, Ernst said she was “disappointed” with the statement, noting that the LAF is a “strategic partner” and Israel had “given Lebanon a real opportunity to free itself from Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists. Instead of seizing that opportunity and working together to disarm Hezbollah, [Haykal] is shamefully directing blame at Israel.”

Graham said that “It is clear that the Lebanese Chief Head of Defense – because of a reference to Israel as the enemy and his weak almost non-existent effort to disarm Hezbollah – is a giant setback for efforts to move Lebanon forward.”

“This combination makes the Lebanese Armed Forces not a very good investment for America,” he warned.

A Lebanese source told MTV, meanwhile, that Israel’s accusations that the LAF is struggling to implement the ceasefire terms were wrong, claiming that the army “is playing its role wisely and the implementation of the Hezbollah disarmament plan is being carried out according to the established plan.”

Israeli officials told Ynet News that “for every Hezbollah rocket launcher the Lebanese army seizes, another launcher is converted into a missile system in the Bekaa Valley.”

“There is considerable ‘looking the other way’ and instances of cooperation in this long operation the Lebanese call ‘Shield of the South.’ In practice, we have to repeatedly strike weapons-production sites, including the strategic facility in the Bekaa that we hit this week for the ninth time since the ceasefire began,” the official added.

Despite the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm the terror group, Israel has stated that Hezbollah is rearming more quickly than the LAF can collect weapons, also accusing it of only going after undefended weapon caches while ignoring Hezbollah’s strategic, well-fortified arms warehouses.

On Tuesday, the IDF continued striking Hezbollah targets, destroying a bulldozer the terrorists used to restore infrastructure in the town of Bleida, as well as striking a vehicle near the town of Bint Jbeil, which reportedly killed one person.

MTV cited sources saying that the continuation of significant U.S. support for the Lebanese government and military would now depend on the LAF’s future actions regarding Hezbollah’s disarmament, as well as the border dispute with Israel.