Israel-Lebanon talks resume in Washington

Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met Tuesday at the State Department for a fourth round of direct talks, even as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued unabated on the ground.

The two-day session, chaired by US Deputy National Security Adviser Michael Needham, brought together Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadé Mouawad, alongside senior military and diplomatic officials from both sides. Daniel Holler, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, did not attend.

The talks came hours after President Trump claimed on Truth Social that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had pledged not to send troops to Beirut and that Hezbollah would "completely cease fire », promises that rang hollow as Israeli strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon on Monday evening, bringing the day's death toll to 13.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun set the tone before the meeting, declaring that "strength does not consist of waging war, but of having the courage and wisdom to end it through negotiation." Prime Minister Nawaf Salam echoed the sentiment, calling negotiations "the least costly option for Lebanon and the shortest path to ending the occupation."

Hezbollah reopened the southern front on March 2 in retaliation for Israeli-American strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader two days earlier. The ceasefire theoretically in place since April 17 has never been fully respected by either side.