The newly appointed head of the committee overseeing the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, U.S. General Joseph Clearfield, held meetings Thursday with Lebanon’s top three officials, amid mounting concern over Israel’s continued airstrikes and border violations.

General Clearfield, who heads the “Mechanism” committee established under last November’s ceasefire framework, met separately with President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The talks focused on reactivating the committee’s work and consolidating calm along the southern border.

In Baabda, President Aoun told Clearfield and his accompanying delegation that Lebanon expected the committee to play a more active role in halting what he called “Israel’s repeated and unacceptable aggressions” and in pressuring Tel Aviv to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.

“Lebanon places great hopes on the committee’s work to help restore stability in the South and prevent further Israeli violations,” Aoun said during the meeting, attended by U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Keith Hanigan.

“Lebanon remains committed to implementing all security measures adopted by the army command. No one in the South, or in Lebanon as a whole, wants a return to war.”

Aoun said the Lebanese Army is fully performing its duties south of the Litani River and reinforcing its deployment by the day, noting that troops had cleared areas under their control, dismantled armed presence, uncovered tunnels, and seized weapons and ammunition “despite the South’s difficult terrain.” He called for international pressure on Israel to “withdraw from occupied areas so the army can complete its deployment to the southern border.”

General Clearfield told the president that the committee’s meetings would now be held on a regular basis to “strengthen the ceasefire and prevent renewed hostilities.”

In a separate meeting at the Ain el-Tineh residence, Speaker Nabih Berri raised with Clearfield what he described as Israel’s “daily aggressions” against civilians and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, including economic, industrial, and agricultural sites.

Berri accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement and obstructing the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 by maintaining its occupation of Lebanese territories along the border.

For his part, Clearfield presented the Speaker with the committee’s upcoming agenda and work mechanisms, expressing hope that the next stage would “witness tangible progress toward consolidating the ceasefire and ensuring Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese land.”

At the Grand Serail, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also met with Clearfield, with talks centering on the committee’s coordination with Lebanese authorities and its efforts to stabilize the situation in the South.

General Clearfield outlined the committee’s plan to hold regular meetings “aimed at reinforcing the cessation of hostilities.”

Salam reaffirmed that Lebanon remains “committed to completing the process of confining all weapons south of the Litani River by the end of the year, as outlined in the Lebanese Army’s plan.” He added that Israel “must, in turn, fulfill its obligations by withdrawing from occupied Lebanese territories and halting its ongoing aggressions.”