Israel and Lebanon begin high-stakes Washington talks as Hezbollah fighting threatens ceasefire

A third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon have started in Washington DC, days before the expiration of a truce that reduced but did not stop the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanese officials are hoping that the two-day negotiations will yield a new ceasefire deal and pave the way for tackling a series of thorny issues, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing for a breakthrough between the two neighbours that have been officially in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948.

Hezbollah, however, is not part of those talks and has been vocally opposed to Lebanon engaging in direct negotiations with Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade near-constant fire across the border despite a US-brokered ceasefire on April 17.

Initially a 10-day truce, it was then extended for another three weeks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the first Israel-Lebanon meetings in Washington DC in April, was with Trump on a visit to China and did not attend Thursday’s session.

The current round of talks represents a step toward more serious negotiations, with higher-level envoys from Lebanon and Israel taking part after the initial preparatory sessions were headed by the ambassadors of the two countries to the United States.

Lebanon’s envoy heading up Thursday’s talks, Simon Karam, is a lawyer and well-connected former Lebanese ambassador to the US who recently represented Lebanon in indirect talks with Israel over implementation of the ceasefire that preceded the latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

On the Israeli side, Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin was set to attend.

There are still large gaps in what the two sides want from the direct talks.

Israeli officials have focused on disarming Hezbollah and described the negotiations as a precursor to a potential normalisation of diplomatic relations.

Lebanese officials have said they are seeking a security agreement or armistice that would stop short of normalisation.

Trump has publicly called for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Aoun has declined to meet or speak directly with Netanyahu at this stage.

With Lebanon’s health ministry reporting 22 people killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including eight children, a senior Lebanese official said the Lebanese delegation would seek “a ceasefire that Israel implements”.

The Israeli military said an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah fell within Israeli territory near the border and injured several Israeli civilians.

Israel has kept troops in a self-declared security zone in south Lebanon, saying this aims to shield northern Israel from attack by Hezbollah, which fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel during the war.

The Israeli military said it carried out a new wave of attacks on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

Hezbollah said it carried out 17 attacks on Israeli troops in the south on Wednesday.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that since the war began on March 2, 2896 people have been killed - including about 400 since the nominal ceasefire was implemented - and 8824 wounded.

Eighteen Israeli soldiers, two Israeli civilians inside Israel and a defence contractor working in southern Lebanon have been killed on the Israeli side.

with Reuters