Israeli and Lebanese negotiators met at the State Department on Thursday in a race to prevent the collapse of a fragile ceasefire before it expires Sunday, with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Beijing and neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the table.
The ceasefire was brokered by Trump, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on April 23. Trump said last month he hoped to host Netanyahu and Aoun in Washington to hammer out a more permanent peace deal. None of the three leaders were present Thursday.
In their place, Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin led a delegation that included Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter. Aoun’s special envoy Simon Karam led Lebanon’s team alongside its U.S. ambassador, Nada Hamadeh. The talks were hosted by State Department counselor Michael Needham and the U.S. ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon, Mike Huckabee and Michel Issa.
The meeting began shortly after 9 a.m. and ended shortly after 5 p.m. Both delegations were expected to confer with their capitals before returning to the State Department on Friday morning.
A senior State Department official told MBN on Thursday that the U.S. side hoped to facilitate discussions that could lead to peace and ensure Lebanese and Israeli civilians were no longer harmed. The official indicated that Lebanon committing to repeal a law banning its citizens from contact with Israelis “would be a significant confidence-building measure” from Beirut.
The two sides remain far apart on the core issues. Israel’s primary objective, repeated by Netanyahu and other officials, is a concrete plan for the elimination of Hezbollah forces along its northern border with Lebanon. Lebanon’s government has said its main objective is a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from its territory. The two countries have no formal diplomatic relations and have technically been in a state of war for 77 years.
The gap between those positions is playing out against an accelerating conflict on the ground. Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli airstrikes in the country’s south killed 22 people including eight children on Wednesday, bringing the number of Lebanese killed since hostilities resumed in early March to 2,896, with 8,824 wounded. Lebanese officials say more than 1.2 million civilians have been displaced following Israeli evacuation orders covering nearly 15% of Lebanese territory. Israel’s military said it had struck Hezbollah weapons arsenals. Hezbollah said it struck several Israeli sites with drones.
The United Nations, which maintains a peacekeeping force in Lebanon’s south, reported 455 firing incidents attributed to Israeli forces on Wednesday, alongside six trajectories of projectiles attributed to Lebanese non-state actors including Hezbollah. “We reiterate our call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, and fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law,” U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.
Lebanon’s government has spent the past year attempting to establish a state monopoly on arms and disarm Hezbollah under a U.S.-backed plan, with mixed results. On Wednesday, Lebanon’s foreign ministry said Beirut had formally complained to the U.N. Security Council about Iran’s “direct and blatant interference” in the country, including its ongoing support of Hezbollah and its refusal to recall its ambassador after Lebanon declared him no longer welcome.
Hezbollah, which opposes the Washington talks as negotiations with the “enemy,” remains the central obstacle. U.S. officials including Rubio have said there is “no problem” to resolve between Israel and Lebanon, with the real issue being Hezbollah. Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, which Israel says is necessary to create a security buffer, has drawn no withdrawal timeline from Israeli officials. Defense Minister Israel Katz has said the “security zone” could become permanent.
The United Nations expressed cautious optimism. “We hope that the latest round of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington planned for today and tomorrow will contribute to an effective and durable ceasefire and open a path toward lasting peace,” Haq said.
Alex Willemyns
Alex Willemyns is MBN’s Washington DC correspondent. He has more than a decade of experience reporting on international relations and U.S. foreign policy.
