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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he has instructed his cabinet to engage in direct discussions with Lebanon, aiming to disarm Hezbollah and forge “peace relations” between the two nations.
“Following Lebanon’s repeated appeals to initiate direct negotiations with Israel, I directed the cabinet yesterday to commence these discussions with Lebanon at the earliest opportunity,” stated Netanyahu’s office in a formal announcement.
The statement further emphasized that the negotiations would concentrate on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Additionally, Israel welcomed the Lebanese Prime Minister’s recent call to demilitarize Beirut.
According to a Lebanese government official, who shared insights with Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday, Lebanon would only consider entering negotiations if a ceasefire is declared first.
Reports from Israeli media indicated that Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, is set to lead the Israeli delegation in the discussions. These talks are expected to proceed “under fire,” implying that Israel will continue its military actions in Lebanon during the negotiations.
The statement came a day after Israel launched its largest wave of strikes on Lebanon since the start of its war with Hezbollah on 2 March, leaving more than 300 people dead according to authorities.
Netanyahu’s statement also followed calls on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, according to US publication Axios.
Senior US officials said Witkoff asked Netanyahu to “calm down” the strikes in Lebanon and open negotiations.
The publication quoted a senior Israeli official who said the direct negotiations will begin next week in Washington.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had renewed a call last month for a truce and the opening of negotiations to stop the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s cabinet on Thursday instructed security forces to restrict weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions, in a warning to Hezbollah.
“The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin reinforcing the full imposition of state authority over Beirut Governorate and to monopolise weapons in the hands of legitimate authorities alone,” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said at the end of a cabinet meeting.
The Lebanese government banned Hezbollah’s military activities at the beginning of March, shortly after the start of war with Israel, but the decision has not stopped the Iran-backed group from conducting military operations.
Beirut had also committed last year to disarming the group, the only one to keep its weapons after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
In December, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades, part of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
Before then, Israel and Lebanon, which have no formal diplomatic relations, had insisted on keeping military officers in the role.
Strikes continue on ‘Hezbollah launch sites’
The Israeli army said on Thursday it was striking Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, shortly after it had warned that the militant group could expand launches of projectiles across Israel.
“A short while ago, the [Israel Defense Forces] began striking Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported several Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon including Bint Jbeil, a symbolic town where Hezbollah said earlier it was engaging with Israeli soldiers.
An AFP correspondent saw first responders looking for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Choukine.
In Israel, over 20 rocket alerts sounded through Thursday morning in communities near the northern border with Lebanon.
AFP footage from the border area showed long rocket trails in the sky and plumes of smoke signalling interceptions.
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