Rubio (C) speaks during a meeting with Moawad (2R) and Leiter (2L) at the State Department in Washington DC [Getty]
Washington’s top diplomat urged Israel and Lebanon to seize a “historic opportunity” for peace as direct talks between the two opened on Tuesday despite objections from Hezbollah, and amid Israel’s refusal to halt its attacks on Lebanon.
Tuesday’s meeting in Washington – the first high-level, direct talks since 1993 – was mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States. Lebanon’s Nada Mouawad and Israel’s Yechiel Leiter were seen sat across from one another.
It began at 3pm GMT at the State Department and came as Israeli troops closed in on a strategic town in southern Lebanon.
“This is a historic opportunity,” Rubio said as he welcomed the ambassadors, acknowledging the “decades of history” complicating the process.
“The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed.”
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said he hoped the talks “will mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people, especially people of the south” which has borne the brunt of the conflict.
The Lebanese government says the aim of the talks is to end the violence in Lebanon, push for an Israeli withdrawal, and allow displaced residents to return to their homes in the war-battered south, where Israeli forces have advanced several kilometres.
Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told local media on Tuesday that the scheduled meeting in Washington does not indicate any recognition of Israel, but is merely communication aimed at putting an end to the war, adding that both countries have held talks before.
He reiterated that Lebanese ambassador Nada Mouawad will call for a ceasefire or a truce “so we can explore how to negotiate with Israel”. He also said there were no guarantees that Beirut would be spared from further Israeli attacks.
Speaking earlier on condition of anonymity, a State Department official said that the conversation between Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors “will scope the ongoing dialogue about how to ensure the long-term security of Israel’s northern border and to support the government of Lebanon’s determination to reclaim full sovereignty over its territory.”
But the two sides have opposing terms, with Lebanon insisting on a truce before talks happen, while Israel says it will not halt its attacks on the country, vowing to continue its war with Hezbollah.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told journalists on Monday that the dialogue between Lebanon and Israel is aimed at disarming Hezbollah and “establishing peaceful relations between our two countries”, with Beirut not recognising Israel.
“We will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah, which continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks against Israel and our civilians,” Bedrosian said.
Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, which is battling Israel, called on Monday for the talks to be scrapped before they even began, describing them as “futile”.
Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, told The Associated Press that the group was “not bound by what they agree to”.
“As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,” Safa told AP.
Hezbollah has repeatedly criticised the Lebanese government for what it calls “concessions” to the US and Israel, including efforts to disarm the group and ban its armed wing. The government recently instructed security forces to enforce a state monopoly on all weapons in the capital.
The fight for Bint Jbeil
Lebanon was pulled into the region-wide Iran war on 2 March after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, which had already been violating a 2024 ceasefire deal with frequent attacks on Lebanon.
Since then, Israeli strikes – including a heavy attack on Beirut on 8 April described as the worst in decades – have killed more than 2,000 people, wounded thousands, and displaced more than one million people from southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of the east.
Airstrikes and shelling continued on Tuesday across southern Lebanon, targeting dozens of areas and killing several people.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to confront the Israeli invasion through ambushes and strikes, as well as firing rockets at northern Israeli towns and settlements.
Shortly after the talks began on Tuesday, Hezbollah said it had launched “simultaneous rocket salvos” at 13 northern Israeli towns.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that another soldier had been killed during combat in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had surrounded Bint Jbeil amid intense fighting with Hezbollah, saying it will have full operational control over the strategic town “within days.”
Capturing the town would mark a significant advance in the invasion, which has seen the Israeli military take control of nearly all border towns and villages, with Israeli troops continuing to demolish homes and civilian infrastructure.
Israeli officials have repeatedly said they want to establish a “security zone” in south Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks, but many Lebanese see this as a pretext for a new occupation.
