US hosts rare Israel-Lebanon talks as Tel Aviv escalates attacks
Washington hosted a controversial diplomatic meeting between Lebanese and Israeli officials on Tuesday, even as the Israeli regime continues its aggression against Lebanon in blatant violation of a broader regional ceasefire agreement.
US National Security Advisor Marco Rubio appeared at the start of the talks alongside Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa also took part in the meeting.
As the talks got underway, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a post on X that he hoped the meeting would “mark the beginning of ending the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and the southerners in particular.”
However, Israel’s cabinet spokesperson, Shosh Bedrosian, stated that Tel Aviv would not discuss a ceasefire with Lebanon.
Israeli forces targeted the city of Tyre in Lebanon.
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She echoed remarks by the regime’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, who told reporters in al-Quds ahead of the meeting that the talks would instead focus on the "disarmament of Hezbollah."
Saar described the "disarmament" of the resistance group as a non-negotiable precondition for any future agreement between Tel Aviv and Beirut.
“We want to reach peace and normalization with the state of Lebanon,” he said, calling Hezbollah “a problem” that “needs to be addressed.”
Ahead of the talks, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem urged Beirut to cancel the meeting, vowing that the resistance would continue to defend Lebanese sovereignty against the Israeli regime.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem emphasized that the Israeli regime demands Lebanon's surrender, but the resistance will confront the regime until the last breath.
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The Washington talks come as Israel continues its airstrikes on Lebanon, one week into a ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States.
The ceasefire, announced 40 days after the US and Israel launched their war of aggression against Iran, explicitly included Lebanon, making the ongoing strikes a direct violation of the agreement.
Israel’s military aggression in Lebanon has killed at least 2,124 people since early March, including many women and children, according to the health ministry.
The attacks have also displaced around 1.2 million people from their homes in southern Beirut.
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