US official said Thursday’s talks, which were to take place at the State Department, were being transferred to the White House
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, will personally greet the envoys of Lebanon and Israel at the White House this Thursday (23), when they meet for a second round of US-facilitated negotiationswith Beirut seeking to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a day after Israeli strikes killed at least five people, including a journalist.
A US official said Thursday’s talks, which were to take place at the State Department, were being moved to the White House, and Trump was expected to greet the ambassadors upon their arrival. “It’s a sign of the importance being given to them and the priority. I think there is a feeling of optimism that the ball can move forward,” said another source familiar with the matter.
Recent contacts with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have focused on stopping the escalation and launching negotiations with the aim of ending the state of war, ensuring Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territory and sending the Lebanese Army to the international border, the Lebanese presidency said in a statement.
Israel says its goals in talks with Lebanon include ensuring the dismantlement of Hezbollah and creating conditions for a peace deal. Israel will be represented by its ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter. Rubio hosted the first meeting between Leiter and Moawad on April 14 — the highest-level contact between Lebanon and Israel in decades.
Encounter after deadliest day
Wednesday (22) was the deadliest day in Lebanon since the ceasefire came into force on April 16. Among those killed by Israeli strikes was Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, according to a senior Lebanese military officer and her employer, the Al-Akhbar newspaper.
About 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel went on the offensive following the Hezbollah attack on March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah said the group wants the ceasefire to continue, but “on the basis of full compliance by the Israeli enemy.” In a televised press conference, he reiterated Hezbollah’s objections to face-to-face talks and called on the government to cancel all forms of direct contact with Israel.
Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2, when the group opened fire in support of Iran in the ongoing regional war. The ceasefire in Lebanon came in parallel with Washington’s efforts to resolve its conflict with Tehran, although Iran has requested that Lebanon be included in any broader truce.
Hezbollah said it carried out four operations in southern Lebanon on Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks. Reached after talks between the two nations’ ambassadors in Washington last week, the ceasefire effective until Sunday has resulted in a significant reduction in violence. However, attacks continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops seized a self-declared buffer zone.
Iran-backed Hezbollah says it has “the right to resist” occupying forces.
