Lebanese and Israeli envoys met in Washington on Tuesday as Israel pressed its war on Iran-backed Hezbollah, a diplomatic milestone overshadowed by conflicting agendas with Israel ruling out discussion of a ceasefire and demanding Beirut disarm the group.
The meeting comes at a critical juncture in the crisis in the Middle East, a week into a fragile ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Iran says Israel's campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon must be included in any agreement to end the wider war, complicating talks mediated by Pakistan aimed at averting further economic fallout.
The conflict has snared global energy supply and spiked oil prices, piling pressure on US President Donald Trump to find an off-ramp.
In a sign Washington wants to see progress in the talks, Trump's top diplomat and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio appeared at the start of the meeting alongside the Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad. State Department Counselor Michael Needham, US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, and US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, a personal friend of Trump, were also participating.
It marks a rare encounter between representatives of governments that have remained technically in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948.
LEBANON SEEKS CEASEFIRE
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement on X as the meeting started that he hoped it would "mark the beginning of ending the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and the southerners in particular."
"The only solution lies in the Lebanese army re-deploying up to the internationally recognized border, and so being solely responsible for the security of the area and the safety of its residents, without the partnership of any other party," Aoun added.
The Lebanese government led by Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called for negotiations with Israel despite objections from Hezbollah, reflecting worsening tensions between the group and its opponents.
Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran on March 2, sparking an Israeli offensive that has killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.
Lebanese officials have said Moawad only has authority to discuss a ceasefire in Tuesday's meeting.
But Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said Israel would not discuss a ceasefire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters in Jerusalem ahead of the meeting that talks would focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah, which he said must take place before Israel and Lebanon could sign any peace agreement and normalize relations.
He said Hezbollah was a problem for Israel's security and Lebanon's sovereignty "and this problem needs to be addressed in order to move to a different phase."
"We want to reach peace and normalization with the state of Lebanon," he said.
The Lebanese state has been seeking to disarm Hezbollah peacefully since a war between the group and Israel in 2024. Any move by Lebanon to disarm it by force risks igniting conflict in a country shattered by civil war from 1975 to 1990. Moves against Hezbollah by a Western-backed government in 2008 prompted armed clashes.
The current government banned Hezbollah's military wing after it opened fire on Israel last month.
'AT WAR WITH HEZBOLLAH, NOT LEBANON'
Israel and the US have said the campaign against Hezbollah was not part of the Iran-US ceasefire, though Pakistan's prime minister had said the truce would include Lebanon, as Iran had demanded.
While Israel has pressed attacks in Lebanon, it has launched no airstrikes in Beirut since last Wednesday, when it pounded the capital during a 10-minute barrage that killed hundreds of people across Lebanon.
The following day, US President Donald Trump, in an interview with NBC News, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told him he would "low-key it" in Lebanon.
A US State Department official said that Israel was at war with Hezbollah, not Lebanon, and so there was no reason they should not talk, describing the talks as direct, high-level and the first of their kind since 1993.
The conversation would "scope the ongoing dialogue about how to ensure the long-term security of Israel's northern border and to support the Government of Lebanon's determination to reclaim full sovereignty over its territory and political life".
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday called on the government to cancel the meeting, saying Hezbollah would continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
In Lebanon, the dead include 252 women and 166 children, the health ministry says. Sources familiar with the matter said on March 27 that more than 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed. Since March 2, 13 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon, while Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians.
'SEIZE THIS OPPORTUNITY'
Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including the UK, Tuesday urged Israel and Lebanon to "seize this opportunity" in a statement ahead of the talks in Washington.
Britain's foreign ministry posted the ministers' joint statement saying "direct negotiations can pave the way to bring lasting security for Lebanon and Israel as well as the region".
The statement called "upon all parties to urgently deescalate and seize the opportunity offered by the ceasefire between the United States and Iran".
It was signed by ministers from Britain and Australia and European countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, but not Germany, Austria, Hungary or Italy.
The statement said that signatories "condemn in the strongest terms" both attacks by Hezbollah on Israel and "massive Israeli strikes on Lebanon".
The countries said they welcomed the initiative by President Aoun to open direct talks and were "ready to support" discussions.
