Beirut: President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, made two phone calls this afternoon to Minister of National Defense Major General Michel Menassa, and Army Commander General Rudolph Haykal, offering his condolences for the martyrdom of the two soldiers in south Lebanon today as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the Zibdin-Nabatieh road.

According to National News Agency - Lebanon, President Aoun strongly condemned the targeting of Lebanese army personnel in the south, at a time when attacks continue to claim the lives of hundreds of innocent women, men, and children, considering that "these acts constitute a blatant violation of international and humanitarian laws."

Aoun emphasized that "targeting the military institution, which plays a unifying national role in protecting stability and preserving sovereignty, is flagrantly inconsistent with Lebanon's and the international community's calls to enable the army to extend the state's authority over the entire Lebanese territory and to confine weapons to the hands of legitimate armed forces."

The President of the Republic reaffirmed "Lebanon's commitment to this option," calling for "an immediate end to the attacks on villages, towns and their residents, and for the army not to be targeted, as it remains the last refuge in preserving security and stability in the country."