The United States will sponsor a new round of talks between Lebanon and Israel in early September in Rome, a State Department official announced Tuesday.
"The political track will reconvene in Rome in early September, and conversations will continue in Beirut, Jerusalem, and Washington in the interim," the official said on condition of anonymity. "We feel good about the trajectory."
The United States has been sponsoring talks between Lebanon and Israel aimed at putting an end to hostilities between them, with Beirut seeking Israel's phased withdrawal from the south.
In June, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as "pilot zones."
Talks last week in Rome were the seventh round since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.
Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.
The US official speaking Tuesday gave an update on the last round of talks in Rome.
"The framework is being implemented, the first zones are live, and the working groups have aligned their language, maps, and procedures," the official said.
Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel and refuses to surrender its weapons.
Violence in Lebanon has decreased since the Lebanon-Israel deal and the signing in June of a preliminary US-Iran agreement on the Middle East war.
But Lebanon has continued to report intermittent Israeli strikes and shelling, as well as detonations and demolitions in southern villages.
At the next round of technical talks, the US official said: "Lebanon will present detailed roadmaps for securing new areas as implementation proceeds in the current zones."
