Aoun | Pakistan

• Lebanese president urges Washington to ‘keep standing’ by Lebanon’s institutions, army and people • Ceasefire holds unevenly as Israeli strikes continue in the south BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday urged the United States to stand by his country after a recent US-backed framework deal with Israel aiming to permanently end hostilities after the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. The deal reached in Washington calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, starting with two “pilot” areas. Hezbollah has rejected the deal, which does not set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal. In a congratulatory message to President Donald Trump marking the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence, Aoun urged Washington to “keep always standing beside Lebanon’s right and just causes, its institutions, army and people”. Aoun expressed hope that Lebanon could “turn the page on wars… and open a new page of hope, peac...