Washington, Apr 24:
Lebanon and Israel are preparing for a second round of rare direct talks in Washington aimed at extending a fragile 10-day ceasefire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and laying the groundwork for broader negotiations.
The talks involve Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, following their first direct meeting in decades.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said efforts are underway to extend the ceasefire and raise issues such as Israeli withdrawals, an end to strikes and demolitions in occupied border areas, the release of Lebanese detainees, border deployment of Lebanese troops, and reconstruction planning.
On the Israeli side, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged Lebanon to cooperate in disarming Hezbollah, calling it the main obstacle to peace and normalisation.
He said most border disputes were minor and solvable, but described Hezbollah as the core issue preventing stability.
The conflict escalated after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, prompting Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion that created a buffer zone up to 10 km inside southern Lebanon.
Israel says its military presence aims to prevent rocket and anti-tank attacks from crossing the border.
Despite the ceasefire, both sides have reported violations, and tensions remain high. Hezbollah has rejected participation in the talks, with senior official Wafiq Safa stating the group would not recognise any agreements reached.
The war has caused major destruction, killing about 2,300 people in Lebanon and displacing over one million.
The current diplomatic engagement marks the first direct Israel-Lebanon talks since 1993, a significant shift from decades of indirect communication mediated by the US or UN peacekeepers.
Lebanon hopes the negotiations will ultimately lead to a permanent end to hostilities, full withdrawal of Israeli forces, and reconstruction, though the path remains uncertain amid continued military tensions and political disagreements.
A Lebanese journalist, Amal Khalil, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon while sheltering in a house during reporting on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. She had taken cover in al-Tiri village after an earlier strike hit near the vehicle she was travelling in with a colleague.
A second strike hit the house, killing two people and trapping Khalil under rubble for hours.
Her colleague, Zeinab Faraj, was seriously injured. Rescue efforts were delayed after reports that Israeli forces fired on teams attempting to reach the site. Khalil’s body was later recovered by Lebanese army, civil defence, and Red Cross teams.
Israel said it was reviewing the incident and denied targeting journalists or blocking rescue operations, claiming ceasefire violations in the area. Lebanon condemned the killing as a violation of international law.
Khalil’s death brings the number of journalists killed in Lebanon this year to nine amid escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes.