First round of Lebanon-Israel talks concludes in Washington: What to know
The State Department said, “There is no reason the two neighbors should not be talking.”
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Lebanese and Israeli officials at the State Department on Tuesday for rare peace talks amid Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The US-brokered meeting, which got underway around 11 a.m. EST, brought together Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh. Also present for the meeting were US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and State Department counselor Michael Needham. The talks lasted roughly two hours.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Leiter said he and his Lebanese counterpart “discovered today that we're on the same side of the equation.”
“We had a wonderful exchange of over two hours,” he said, adding that they discussed “a clearly delineated border" between Lebanon and Israel, "where the only reason we'll need to cross each other's territory will be in business suits to conduct business or in bathing suits to go on vacation."
In a statement, Hamadeh described the meeting as “constructive” and said a date and location for a second round of talks would be shared later. The Lebanese ambassador called for a ceasefire and the full implementation of the November 2024 agreement with Israel and stressed her country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Before the meeting, the group gathered for a photo but did not shake hands. Rubio told reporters that the meeting was a “historic opportunity” to find a framework so “that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear.”
“This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah influence in this part of the world,” Rubio said.
An official familiar with the working-level meeting said it was expected to be mostly preparatory and set the stage for more substantive negotiations at a later date.
Lebanon and Israel lack diplomatic relations and remain technically at war.
On Monday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem called on Lebanon’s government to withdraw from the “futile” talks. Less than an hour before the meeting began on Tuesday, his group claimed responsibility for a barrage of rockets fired at the northern Israeli cities of Kiryat Shmona and Manara.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, continued to launch airstrikes at a number of villages and towns in south Lebanon throughout Tuesday, even as the talks were ongoing. A loud explosion in the border town of Khiam, where Israeli forces have been advancing in recent weeks, was heard around 8 p.m. local time, the state-run news agency NNA reported.
In a statement ahead of the talks, a State Department official said Israel is at war with the militant group, not Lebanon, “so there is no reason the two neighbors should not be talking.”
The official said the conversation will cover “how to ensure the long-term security of Israel's northern border and to support the government of Lebanon's determination to reclaim full sovereignty over its territory and political life.”
On Tuesday, foreign ministers from nearly 20 European countries welcomed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's decision to open direct talks with Israel and called on both countries “to seize this opportunity.”
A State Department official said Tuesday that the department had recently approved more than $58 million in new humanitarian aid “to help provide lifesaving assistance" to displaced Lebanese. Over 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by the war that erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel following the onset of the Iran war.
"Our funding will focus on lifesaving food, health, water, wastewater, shelter and the emergency response needs of the most conflict-affected populations," the official said.
Rina Bassist contributed to this report, which has been updated since initial publication.
