Lebanon and Israel have held their first direct diplomatic talks in more than three decades, marking a rare meeting aimed at ending fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mediated the talks between the two countries. Rubio said, it was a “historic opportunity” to end Hezbollah’s influence, BBC reported.
According to the US statement, both sides had agreed to begin direct negotiations, with the time and venue yet to be decided. Israel said that it wanted to disarm all non-state terror groups, referring to Hezbollah.
Lebanon called for a ceasefire along with steps to address its humanitarian crisis. The two countries do not maintain diplomatic relations, and their last direct high-level talks were held in 1993.
More than 2,000 people have been killed since Israeli military operations in Lebanon started on March 2, shortly after US and Israeli joint strikes on Iran.
While the two sides were meeting in Washington on Tuesday, Hezbollah said it had carried out at least 24 attacks targeting Israel and Israeli forces in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israel has said its operations in Lebanon are intended to disarm and dismantle the group, which it also fought in 2023 and 2024 during the war in Gaza.
The US state department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott said that both Israel and Lebanon had agreed to work towards reducing the influence of Hezbollah following the talks, reported BBC.
He also said the Lebanese side called for a “ceasefire and concrete measures to address and alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis” in the country.
The United States expressed its full support for Israel’s right of self defense from attacks of Hezbollah.
As per the BBC, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hoped the talks would “mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and those in the south in particular”.
He further said, “only solution” to the conflict would be in the Lebanese armed forces “being solely responsible for the security of the area”.
Hezbollah, a well-armed and sophisticated militia group that was founded in 1982, wields significant influence in Lebanon’s predominantly Shia south and in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
Politicians linked to the group also hold two cabinet-level posts in the government.
Its relationship with Lebanon’s central government has grown increasingly tense since it joined the conflict between Israel and Iran, its primary backer.
