Lebanon and Israel are set to carry the primary direct diplomatic talks in many years in Washington following greater than a month of war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The historic talks will feature Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
Israeli strikes have killed no less than 2,089 people in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, amongst them 252 women, 166 children and 88 medical employees, with 6,762 others wounded.
A couple of million people have been displaced.
The talks could pave a way towards the tip of a war in Iran as well – Tehran has demanded an end to the strikes in Lebanon as a condition to start talks with the US.
But Hezbollah and critics are sceptical and consider Lebanon’s government in Beirut has no leverage and will reap the benefits of the position of Iran, the group’s key ally and patron.
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The Israeli military continues an invasion into southern Lebanon, which some Israeli officials have said goals to create a depopulated ‘security zone’ from the border to the Litani River, some 20 miles.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, weakened after its last war with Israel that led to November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery each day into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.
The Israeli and Lebanese governments are meeting to debate ways to make sure long-term security on Israel’s northern border.
In addition they wish to support Lebanon controlling its territory and political future from Iran-backed Hezbollah, a US State Department official said.
They shall be the primary talks between the 2 since 1993, in line with the official.
Lebanon’s top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah’s decision to fireside rockets towards Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel wouldn’t launch its ground invasion.
Israel didn’t respond positively until last week, after it launched 100 strikes across the country, including in the center of the Lebanese capital.
Beirut wants a truce as a prerequisite to talks, much like Pakistan-brokered negotiations between the US and Iran.
‘Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories will not be the answer, nor will it yield any results,’ said President Joseph Aoun, who got here to power vowing to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah.
‘Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be essentially the most effective technique of resolving armed conflicts globally.’
But Israel has ruled out a ceasefire, saying that Hezbollah continues to attack Israel ‘indiscriminately’.
Hezbollah and its supporters have been critical, calling it a free concession to Israel. Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Kassem delivered a fiery speech calling on Lebanon to cancel the talks.
Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted not directly with the US, France and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon as mediators.
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