Fresh round of Israel-Lebanon peace talks open in Washington: diplomats
Beirut: Israel and Lebanon opened a new round of peace talks in Washington as their latest ceasefire is set to expire, diplomats said.
One diplomat privy to the two-day talks said that the two sides started discussions just after 1300 GMT on Thursday at the State Department.
The talks between Lebanese and Israeli envoys will mark the sides' third meeting since hostilities reignited between Hezbollah and Israel on March 2. Beirut is attending despite strong objections from Hezbollah.
An Israeli government spokesperson said the talks were taking place with the goal of disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement.
Fought in parallel to the US-Iran conflict, Israel’s war on Lebanon has rumbled on since US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire on April 16, though hostilities have largely been contained to southern Lebanon since then.
The ceasefire is due to expire on Sunday.
With Lebanon's health ministry reporting 22 people killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including eight children, the senior Lebanese official said the Lebanese delegation would seek "a ceasefire that Israel implements".
The Israeli military said an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah fell within Israeli territory near the border and injured several Israeli civilians.
Israel has kept troops in a self-declared security zone in southern Lebanon, saying this aims to shield northern Israel from attack by Hezbollah, which fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel during the war.
The Israeli military said it carried out a new wave of attacks on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon on Thursday.
Hezbollah said it carried out 17 attacks on Israeli troops in the south on Wednesday.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's decision to pursue the talks reflects deep divisions in Lebanon over Hezbollah, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in 1982. The Beirut government has sought its disarmament since last year.
When the April 16 ceasefire was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah's disarmament would be a fundamental demand in peace talks with Lebanon.
The Washington meetings mark the highest-level contact between Lebanon and Israel in decades.
Both Lebanon and Israel are broadening their delegations for this round, after the sides were represented by their ambassadors to Washington in the previous two meetings.
Lebanese Presidential Special Envoy Simon Karam and Israel's Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin will participate in the talks, as well as senior Israeli military representatives, a State Department official said.
The talks are due to take place on Thursday and Friday, the State Department has said.
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