The Lebanese government attends the meeting with Israel’s negotiating team at the White House, with Donald Trump present in the room, to close an improbable agreement that would end the war with Hezbollah. After two months of conflict against the Shiite militia – which is not part of the negotiations – Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, where they have established a so-called ‘yellow line’, a replica of the military division that splits the Gaza Strip in two.
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Near one of these Israeli Army positions, in the Lebanese town of Tiri, an area occupied by Hebrew forces, an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed journalist Amal Khalil, 42, from the newspaper Al-Akhbar, and injured independent reporter Zeinab Faraj. Both had taken refuge in a house after a bombing hit the vehicle driving in front of them, according to the National News Agency.
Lebanese leaders on Thursday accused Israel of committing a “war crime.” President Joseph Aoun stated that Israel “deliberately targets journalists with the aim of concealing the truth about its crimes in Lebanon” and denounced what happened in those terms. In the same vein, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam maintained that “attacking journalists and hindering the access of rescue teams constitutes a war crime” and assured that the country will take the case to international bodies.
This episode coincides with a new round of diplomatic contacts. Israel and Lebanon are holding ambassador-level talks in Washington this Thursday, in which Beirut will request an extension of the ceasefire in force since April 17. According to diplomatic sources, Trump will attend part of the meeting at the White House, in an attempt to push for progress in negotiations with an uncertain outcome.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Yusef Ragi, has stated that “there is no shame in negotiating with Israel if the goal is to end the war, recover territory, and ensure lasting peace.”
“Lebanon can no longer endure wars fought on its territory on behalf of others, nor can Hezbollah continue to sell the illusion of victory,” Raggi added in a post on X.
Before the meeting, Israel stated that it had no “serious disagreements” with Lebanon and called for “working together” against Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and absent from a process it opposes. The Lebanese president reiterated that his country would request an extension of the truce, including “the cessation of the destruction of homes and attacks against civilians, places of worship, journalists, and health and educational personnel.”
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Both countries, still formally at war, already held a first meeting on April 14 in Washington — the first of its kind since 1993 — after the outbreak of the conflict on March 2, when Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel. The United States then pushed for a ten-day truce in a war that has left more than 2,400 dead and nearly a million displaced in Lebanon.
U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is once again bringing together the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon in Washington, along with U.S. diplomatic representatives in both countries. Despite the negotiating framework, fighting has not ceased. On Thursday, an Israeli drone attacked a vehicle near Nabatiyeh, and Hezbollah claimed responsibility for actions against Israeli troops in the south.
A Lebanese official source indicated that Beirut will request a one-month extension of the ceasefire, which expires on Sunday night. After the first round, both parties agreed to initiate direct negotiations for a lasting peace, still without defined date or location, with diplomat Simon Karam leading the Lebanese delegation.
Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, insisted that the only obstacle to normalization is Hezbollah, while the Israeli army maintains its deployment in the south and the so-called ‘yellow line’. According to the terms of the truce, Israel reserves the right to act against “imminent or ongoing” threats.
In this context, the Israeli army also stated on Thursday that it killed two armed individuals in the Aainata area, in the south of the country, considering that they posed “an immediate threat” to its troops. It was not clear if this incident was related to other attacks reported in nearby areas by Lebanese authorities.
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