Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States met in Washington on Thursday for a second round of US-brokered direct talks, the highest-level engagement between the two governments in decades, aimed at extending a fragile 10-day ceasefire that is due to expire within days.
Lebanese ambassador Nada Moawad and Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter attended the session, alongside US ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa. No Hezbollah representative took part.
Lebanon is seeking a one-month extension of the truce. The ceasefire, announced last week, can be prolonged by mutual agreement if Beirut demonstrates progress on sovereign control and if violations stop.
Violations continued on the eve of the meeting. An Israeli strike killed two people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the state news agency, and Hezbollah said it launched an attack drone at Israeli troops in the south.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon is “no longer a pawn” and is pursuing its own interests at the table. He said negotiations should centre on a “complete halt to Israeli aggressions”, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, the return of prisoners and the start of reconstruction. His office described the talks as a “rare opportunity that we must not squander”.
Ahead of the Washington meeting, Aoun received Prince Yazid bin Farhan, an adviser to the Saudi foreign minister, for what his office called a wide-ranging discussion on Saudi Arabia’s role in helping Lebanon.
Hezbollah has condemned Beirut for engaging with Israel, reflecting a widening split with the government, which has pushed for the group’s peaceful disarmament for a year. Israel is demanding full and rapid Hezbollah disarmament and has continued levelling villages in southern Lebanon as it expands a buffer zone several kilometres into Lebanese territory.
France, which contributes personnel to the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission, has urged a durable agreement. An extension of the ceasefire would reduce geopolitical risk premiums on crude — a secondary but material factor for Brent above $105 and for Sri Lanka’s fuel import bill.
