Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will begin negotiations with the government of Lebanon after the war’s deadliest waves of strikes against Hezbollah.
After the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, Jerusalem turned its attention to its longtime enemy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon. It launched its largest wave of strikes targeting the militant group on Wednesday, triggering outrage from Tehran, which claimed a ceasefire in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement. On Thursday, Netanyahu announced that direct negotiations would be opened with Lebanon’s government.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed at the Government meeting yesterday to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a post on X.
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“The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishing of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the call made today by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” it added.
The opening of negotiations with the Lebanese government, which is not a belligerent in the conflict, will not immediately affect fighting against Hezbollah.
“No ceasefire in Lebanon,” an Israeli official told Axios’s Barak Ravid. “The negotiations with the Lebanese government will begin in the coming days.”
Negotiations would begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to various media reports. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, will lead the negotiations on the Israeli side, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, will lead on the American side, and Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S., Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, will lead on the Lebanese side.
These details also indicate that Israel only agreed to negotiations under heavy U.S. pressure, though President Donald Trump publicly backed Israel in its claim that Lebanon wasn’t part of the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah won’t be participating in the negotiations, making its impact limited. Most experts doubt the Lebanese government even has the capability to disarm Hezbollah, which is Israel’s central demand.
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Israel’s blitz on Wednesday saw it hit over 100 targets, killing over 200 people. Among those Israel claimed it killed was the personal secretary of Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah. Israel issued evacuation calls for areas in Beirut on Thursday, indicating further strikes.
The Israel Defense Forces continued its invasion of southern Lebanon, with a fierce battle raging in the highly symbolic town of Bint Jbeil. The IDF failed to capture the town in its 2006 invasion of the country, and it came to signify Israel’s defeat after then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave his victory speech in it after the war ended.
