The ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel joined United States-brokered talks in Washington, DC, with Lebanese authorities seeking to secure a ceasefire, while Israel’s goal is the disarmament of the Hezbollah armed group.
The talks, which the US has described as “open, direct, high-level”, represent the first such bilateral engagement between the two nations since 1993. However, the path to a breakthrough appears narrow, as Hezbollah has urged the Lebanese government to pull out of the talks, calling the efforts “futile”.Qassem Naim, the Hezbollah leader, on Monday said the talks are a ploy to pressure the armed group, which is engaged in fighting with Israel, into laying down its weapons. The Iran-backed group attacked Israel in response to the US-Israel killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon, killing at least 2,080 people. It has refused a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of the truce agreement between the US and Iran.
