Israeli and Lebanese officials will meet on Thursday in Washington to continue the dialogue they started last week about ending the war that has engulfed their countries.
An Israeli official confirmed to the Washington Examiner that delegations will be led by Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, both of whom led their sides during last week’s initial talks. Both ambassadors and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met at the State Department last Tuesday in what was the two countries’ first face-to-face direct negotiations in decades.
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“The United States welcomes the productive engagement that began on April 14,” a State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner, confirming the talks. “We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments.”
The ongoing talks are taking place against the backdrop of a fragile 10-day ceasefire agreement that commenced last Thursday.
The State Department released a statement shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire on Thursday that the two governments signed off on, which said they requested the U.S. “facilitate further direct negotiations between the two countries with the objective of resolving all remaining issues, including demarcation of the international land boundary, with a view to concluding a comprehensive agreement that ensures lasting security, stability, and peace between the two countries.”
Prior to the implementation of the deal, Israel was at war against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed and supported group based in southern Lebanon, which dragged the country into war with Israel after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that instigated the conflicts the region has experienced in recent years.
On March 2, Hezbollah broke a 2024 ceasefire in response to the U.S. and Israel beginning their war against Iran. Israeli forces have killed more than 2,200 people, a tally that does not distinguish between Hezbollah fighters and civilians.
Hezbollah has weapons stockpiles and positions based in southern Lebanon, near the country’s border with Israel, which the Lebanese government was tasked with removing in the United Nations resolution that ended the 2006 and 2024 conflicts. Israeli forces have sought to destroy those locations and facilities on their own militarily in recent years and commenced a new ground operation following Hezbollah’s recent attacks.
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Over the weekend, Hezbollah was purportedly responsible for killing a French UNIFIL peacekeeper in southern Lebanon and injuring two others. Despite their denial, French President Emannuel Macron said, “Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack.”
Last Friday, President Donald Trump said, “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!” Trump also said the U.S. will “work with Lebanon, and deal with the [Hezbollah] situation in an appropriate manner.
