O Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuordered his government to seek negotiations with Lebanon “as quickly as possible”, but pondered: Israeli forces will continue to attack Lebanese territory.
“I want to tell you that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We continue to attack Hezbollah with force and will not stop until security is restored,” Netanyahu said in a video on Thursday (9).
Netanyahu’s green light for talks came after the most lethal Israeli bombing of Lebanon in the current ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
At least 303 people died in Lebanon according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
not so much southern Lebanon – where Israel is conducting a military occupation operation – and on the outskirts of the capital, Beirut.
A CNN found that the US President Donald Trump asked Netanyahu to reduce attacks against Lebanon and negotiate with northern neighbor on disarmament of Hezbollah.
Os USA should act as mediators in these talks between Lebanon and Israel and hope to hold meetings with both parties starting next week.
However, the country seeks a ceasefire before moving towards broader negotiations with Israel.
Ali Fayyad, one of the Hezbollah members with a seat in Lebanon’s Parliamentsaid that the group rejects direct negotiations with Israel and that the Lebanese government must demand a ceasefire as a precondition for any further measures with its southern neighbor.
Hours before Netanyahu’s announcement, he had said that “the only solution to the situation in Lebanon is to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, followed by direct negotiations between them”.
Renewed aggression by the Zionist regime against Lebanon blatantly violates the initial ceasefire. Such actions signal deception and non-compliance, rendering negotiations meaningless. Our hands remain on the trigger. Iran will never forsake its Lebanese brothers and sisters.
— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian)
O President of Iran Masoud Pezeskhiansaid on social media that the continuation of Israeli attacks “will make negotiations meaningless”.
Pezeskhian made reference to talks between Iran and the United States that should begin on Saturday (11) in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
“Our hands remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese brothers and sisters“, he added.
Pakistan says suspension of Israeli strikes in Lebanon was part of ceasefire what both Israel and the United States deny.
Lebanon has been calling for negotiations since Israel launched the current offensive against Hezbollah. The Lebanese group has carried out attacks against Israeli territory in support of Iran since the beginning of the war.
Hezbollah announced attacks against Israeli military infrastructure in the city of Haifa, in northern Israel, this Thursday. Sirens were sounded in parts of the country, including in Tel Avivwarning of a missile attack.
Lebanon does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel; , has been seeking to demilitarize Hezbollah. Still, Netanyahu had been refusing any request for negotiations from Beirut.
Almost 1,900 people have died in Lebanon since Israel’s offensive began on March 2. The number of displaced people in the country already exceeds 1 million – about a fifth of the country’s population.
* With information from CNN and Reuters
