Such formal talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats have not happened in decades. The meeting is an attempt to reach a diplomatic solution to the war, according to officials. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who mediated the talks, called it a historic opportunity for peace in a press conference.
Hezbollah is at the center of the negotiations, officials said, but the group is not participating in the meeting. Hezbollah opposed the direct talks and intensified attacks on northern Israel as the discussions commenced, multiple reports indicate. According to major media sources, Hezbollah launched simultaneous rocket salvos at 13 northern Israeli towns shortly after the start of the discussions.
The two-hour exchange was wonderful and there was a convergence of opinion on removing Hezbollah's influence from Lebanon.
The latest round of fighting began when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on March 2, in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, multiple reports indicate. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over 1 million, according to major media sources. The deadliest day of the war saw over 300 people killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon in one day, multiple reports indicate. The Lebanese health ministry reports that the death toll from Wednesday's massive bombardment had risen to 357, with 1,223 people injured. The ministry added that the toll is still not final, due to the ongoing removal of rubble and the presence of a large amount of human remains requiring DNA testing. The Israeli military said the wave of attacks across the country had killed at least 180 Hezbollah terrorists from the Lebanese armed group. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun said 13 state security personnel had been killed by strikes on the southern city of Nabatieh and condemned the continued attacks. Lebanese authorities said victims of the latest Israeli attacks also included seven members of the same family in the town of Abbassieh and 11 people in Zrarieh.
A fragile ceasefire ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, but Israel continued near-daily attacks during the ceasefire, according to multiple reports. A temporary ceasefire came into effect on November 27, major media sources report. President Joseph Aoun proposed to negotiate directly with Israel to stop the bloodshed, but Israel ignored the offer until last week, multiple reports indicate. A provisional ceasefire was reached between the US, Israel, and Iran on the night of April 8, according to major media sources. Attacks between Israel and Hezbollah increased after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, multiple reports show. There is fierce dispute over whether Lebanon was included in the US-Iran ceasefire declared by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Pakistan, which mediated the truce, and Iran say Lebanon was included in the ceasefire, while the US and Israel say Lebanon was not included.
The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah.
The US State Department stated that the discussions were productive and all parties agreed to start direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and place. The US expressed hope that the talks could lead to a comprehensive peace agreement surpassing the 2024 agreement framework. According to The Lebanese presidency, Israel and Lebanon's ambassadors to the US have agreed in a first phone call to meet in Washington on Tuesday to seek an announcement on a ceasefire and a date to begin direct negotiations. A senior presidency official said negotiations could only happen with a ceasefire in place. Israel's ambassador to Washington confirmed that formal peace negotiations would begin with Lebanon, but added that Israel refuses to discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorised direct talks following what he said were repeated requests from the Lebanese government. During the call they agreed to the meeting at the US State Department, the Lebanese president's office reports. A senior official from the president's office said delegations will meet on Tuesday to discuss ceasefire conditions, and if they can agree on conditions for a ceasefire then negotiations will go ahead at a later date and time.
Hezbollah was created in the 1980s during Israel's occupation of Lebanon and has been financed, trained, and armed by Iran, according to multiple reports. The Taif Agreement in 1989 mandated disarmament of all militias, but Hezbollah kept its weapons, major media sources report. Direct talks between Lebanon and Israel are highly unusual, with the two countries historically communicating through intermediaries. Efforts to establish negotiations have been ongoing since a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, with US envoys previously mediating indirect talks between the two sides.
I hope the Washington talks will yield an agreement on a ceasefire in Lebanon, aiming to start direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
The US and Israel carried out a coordinated attack on Iran on February 28, and also attacked targets in Lebanon, according to major media sources. This military action preceded the diplomatic push in Washington.
The specific ceasefire conditions being discussed in the Washington talks remain unclear, as does how Hezbollah's absence from the talks will affect the outcome of negotiations. The exact date and location for the planned direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel have not been finalized.
Israel wants the dismantling of Hezbollah's weapons and a real peace agreement.
Whether the US-Iran ceasefire dispute will be resolved and how it impacts the Lebanon-Israel conflict is another unknown. According to Euronews, a former Israeli defense official described it as requiring a lot of imagination and optimism to think the issues can be solved in Washington, expressing low expectations.
The current status of Hezbollah's military capabilities and its response to the diplomatic efforts is not fully known. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter stated that the two-hour exchange was wonderful and there was a convergence of opinion on removing Hezbollah's influence from Lebanon. He added that the Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah. President Joseph Aoun said he hopes the Washington talks will yield an agreement on a ceasefire in Lebanon, aiming to start direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel wants the dismantling of Hezbollah's weapons and a real peace agreement. US President Donald Trump stated that the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington did not cover Lebanon, calling it a separate skirmish. According to a wire report, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Israeli strikes on Lebanon constituted a grave violation of the ceasefire. US Vice-President JD Vance noted that he thinks the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't.
It would take 'a lot of imagination and optimism' to think the issues can be solved in Washington, with low expectations.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon constituted a 'grave violation' of the ceasefire.
I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't.