Israel, Lebanon Return to Washington Talks as Strikes Shake Southern Lebanon
Fresh diplomatic efforts between Israel and Lebanon opened in Washington on Tuesday, even as explosions and air raids continued to rattle parts of southern Lebanon, exposing the fragile reality behind renewed peace talks.
Officials from both countries, which have no formal diplomatic ties, gathered at the US State Department for a fourth round of discussions after US President Donald Trump said both sides had pledged to lower tensions following months of worsening hostilities.
The talks, expected to run for two days, brought together Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, Lebanon’s envoy Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and senior US officials, including an adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. None of the participants addressed reporters before discussions began.
The diplomatic push comes against the backdrop of continued Israeli military action in Lebanon, despite Washington’s announcement of an understanding aimed at reducing attacks.
Israeli authorities signalled on Tuesday that military operations targeting Hezbollah-linked areas around Beirut could continue if rockets and cross-border attacks against northern Israeli communities persist.
Violence has intensified sharply in recent days, with Israeli ground forces reportedly carrying out one of their deepest military incursions into Lebanon in nearly twenty years.
Lebanon’s health ministry said strikes near a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday left four people dead and injured 127 others, including dozens of medical workers, deepening fears over the humanitarian toll of the conflict.
