US shifts $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon to bolster ceasefire

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah. In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. “Successful implementation will require an empowered LAF, which will need robust assistance from the United States and other partners,” the State Department said in the notices, both of which used nearly identical language to explain the funding shifts. security assistance to the LAF increases its capacity as the country’s only legitimate military force and defender of Lebanon’s territorial integrity, enables the LAF to prevent potential destabilization from ISIS and other terrorist groups, and enables the LAF to provide security both for the Lebanese people and for U.S. personnel,” the State Department said. “The LAF continues to be an independent, non-sectarian institution in Lebanon, and is respected across all sectors.” In a third notice, also sent to Congress on Jan. 3, the department said it was going to provide $15 million to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to ensure that they become the primary law enforcement entity in the country and assist the LAF in controlling areas in the south.