The Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire, which was set to expire on Sunday, will be extended by 45 days to allow for further progress, the U.S. State Department announced after a new round of direct negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese representatives on Thursday and Friday. The U.S. State Department specified that a new cycle of discussions will be organized on June 2nd and 3rd. In the meantime, the Pentagon will convene military delegations from both countries on May 29th.
Ambassador of Israel to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, stated after the talks that it would be essential to ensure the security of his country. “There will be ups and downs, but the chances of success are high,” he wrote on X network. The Lebanese delegation welcomed the extension as a step towards lasting stability but emphasized the need for a verifiable step-by-step process, supported by Washington.
Speaking from Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused the pro-Iranian Hezbollah of leading the country into a new “irresponsible” war. “Enough of these irresponsible adventures serving foreign projects or interests,” he said, calling for support from Arab countries and the international community in negotiations with Israel.
Despite the ceasefire that took effect on April 17th, Israel continues its strikes in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah, while the Shiite group continues to fire rockets at Israeli positions. Lebanon reported the deaths of six people, including three rescuers from the Islamic Health Committee affiliated with Hezbollah, in an Israeli bombing in the southern part of the country. More than 400 people have died in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the beginning of the truce, according to official figures.
During the discussions in Washington on Friday, the Israeli military ordered evacuations in around ten areas in southern Lebanon and announced plans to “strike Hezbollah infrastructure in the Tyre region.” “There are only women, children, and elderly people here. This strike has caused new displacements,” said Hafez Ramadan, who lives near the building hit by the strike, which he claimed mostly housed displaced persons. The strikes in Tyre resulted in 37 injuries, including six medical staff members from the hospital, four children, and nine women, according to the Health Ministry.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for drone attacks on barracks in northern Israel, as well as other attacks on Israeli forces stationed in various Lebanese border towns. The Israeli army is deployed in the area to protect the northern population of Israel from the attacks of the pro-Iranian movement. Israel, like the United States, calls on Beirut to disarm Hezbollah. “Lebanon negotiates for a future in which its borders will be respected and its sovereignty assured only by its army,” emphasized the Lebanese delegation in Washington. A senior official from the pro-Iranian movement, Mahmoud Qomati, labeled negotiations with Israel as “humiliating” and denounced it as “a plot against the country.”
In a related development, the Iranian Foreign Minister, during a visit to India, expressed openness to Chinese assistance in ending the conflict, following remarks by Donald Trump in Beijing that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had offered to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “We know that the Chinese have good intentions. Any initiative on their part to support diplomacy would be welcome,” said Abbas Araghchi.
