Illustrative image. (Israeli Air Force)
Israel will begin negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on April 9.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated appeals to open direct negotiations with Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement, “I instructed the cabinet yesterday to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.”
The upcoming talks “will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon,” according to the primer, who added that Israel “appreciates the call made today by Lebanon’s prime minister to demilitarize Beirut.”
The call came after United States President Donald Trump reportedly asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier to scale back Israeli strikes on Lebanon to prevent the collapse of the fragile ceasefire with Iran.
More than 300 people were reportedly killed in a large series of Israeli strikes on Lebanon that began hours into the ceasefire. Israel and the U.S. claimed that Lebanon is not covered by the agreement with Iran, while Tehran and Pakistani mediators have insisted otherwise.
Trump made the request during a phone call shortly after Netanyahu publicly vowed to continue striking Lebanon, NBC News reported, citing a senior U.S. official.
Separately, Reuters reported that Lebanon spent the last 24 hours advocating for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel.
A senior Lebanese official told the news agency that a “separate track but the same model” as a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan between the U.S. and Iran. The official said that no date or location has been set yet but Lebanon needs the U.S. as a mediator and guarantor of any agreement.
Axios reported, however, that the first meeting will take place next week in Washington, DC, at the State Department. According to the news website, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa will lead the American delegation, while Lebanon’s Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh-Moawad will lead the Lebanese side.
Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter will lead the Israeli delegation, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel. The news outlet reported, citing another Israeli official, that there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah ahead of the upcoming talks with Lebanon.
Despite the ongoing preparations for peace talks, Israel launched more strikes against Lebanon on April 9, and even expanded its ground operations in the south of the country, storming the strategic town of Bint Jbeil, where a fierce battle is now taking place.
Hezbollah, which adhered to the ceasefire at first, responded by launching dozens of rockets at northern Israel, reaching as far as the city of Nahraia.
All in all, the situation in Lebanon remains very tense. Israel will likely escalate even further against Hezbollah as a way to sabotage the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Any talks with Lebanon will not likely produce anything meaningful, as Hezbollah is not a party to the process.
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