Lebanon and Israel have started their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz attended the opening of the session at the State Department that is being led by US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
The talks are the first between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. Lebanon’s top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah’s decision to fire rockets towards Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.
Israel did not respond positively until last week, after it launched 100 strikes across the country, including in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Lebanon wants a truce as a prerequisite to talks, similar to Pakistan-brokered negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories is “not the solution, nor will it yield any results.” He came to power vowing to disarm non-state groups including Hezbollah. “Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be the most effective means of resolving armed conflicts globally,” he said.
Israel, on the other hand, has ruled out a ceasefire. Today, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denied having disputes with Lebanon and said “the problem is Hezbollah.” He said, “Hezbollah has also its financial roots, there are a lot of dimensions holding this organization, practically keeping Lebanon under Iranian occupation.”
Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted indirectly with the U.S., France and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon as mediators
On the day of the talks, incoming fire triggered nonstop drone and rocket alert sirens in Israeli communities near the Lebanese border. Hezbollah so far on Tuesday has claimed 24 attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
At least 2,124 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, including hundreds of women and children. More than 1 million people are displaced. The deadliest day of the war took place last week, when Israel launched 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes, including in the heart of the capital, killing over 350 people. Some Israeli officials invaded southern Lebanon, which some Israeli officials have said aims to create a “security zone” from the border to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the north.
Also, Israel’s Defence Minister says hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return home until the area is demilitarized and Israel believes its northern communities are safe. Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.
Rubio Hails Israel-Lebanon Talks, No Breakthrough Expected
Nonetheless, Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a “historic opportunity” but making clear no breakthrough agreement was immediately expected.
Rubio said that the Trump administration is “very happy” to be facilitating the discussions, while noting that “we understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved. Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and was not represented, and the group appeared to step up its fire on northern Israel as the talks began.
“But we can begin to move forward with a framework where something can happen, something very positive, something very permanent, so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear.”
Marco Rubio
The Lebanese government hopes the talks will pave the way to an end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the United States, Lebanon insists on representing itself. Iran-backed Hezbollah and other critics maintain that Lebanon’s government lacks leverage and that it should instead back the position of Iran, Hezbollah’s key ally and patron.
Hezbollah enjoys wide influence in Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as large swaths of the country’s southern and eastern provinces. Hezbollah-allied politicians hold two Cabinet Minister positions, though the group’s ties have soured with Lebanon’s top political authorities, who have been critical of Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war last month and who have since criminalized the group’s military activities in the country.
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