Israel and Lebanon Head to Washington for First Direct Talks in 30 Years — But Hezbollah Isn’t at the Table
Summary
Lebanon is preparing to enter U.S.-hosted negotiations with Israel in an effort to pause a war with Hezbollah that has devastated the country. The talks will bring together Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh, joined by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The discussions represent the first direct diplomatic engagement between the two countries since 1993, when post-Madrid Peace Conference talks collapsed without agreement. Lebanon and Israel still do not formally recognize one another.
The negotiations come after Israel escalated its military campaign against Hezbollah following the group’s rocket attacks on Israel in solidarity with Iran. Massive Israeli strikes across Lebanon on April 8 killed more than 350 people according to the Lebanese government, drawing condemnation from Arab and European capitals. Israel says the majority of those killed were Hezbollah fighters operating in civilian areas, though Lebanese authorities report many victims remain unidentified under rubble, including children.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced at least one million, destroying parts of Beirut and numerous towns in the country’s south. Israel has declared its intention to control large areas of southern Lebanon and prevent more than 600,000 residents from returning in order to establish a buffer zone. On the Israeli side, two civilians and thirteen soldiers have been killed, and thousands of Hezbollah attacks have repeatedly forced northern Israeli residents into shelters.
The central structural problem with the talks is that Israel and Lebanon are not directly at war with each other. Hezbollah — simultaneously a political party and one of the world’s most heavily armed militant groups — is the actual combatant, and it has not been invited to the negotiations. The U.S. and many governments classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
The two sides enter with incompatible preconditions. Lebanon wants a ceasefire before addressing longer-term issues. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to halt attacks and demands that Hezbollah disarm first. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun acknowledged a diplomatic opportunity but insisted it cannot be one-sided.
Hezbollah’s leadership has cast the talks as a betrayal. Chief Naim Qasem accused the Lebanese government of offering concessions and vowed the group’s resistance would continue. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters protested against the negotiations over the weekend, and fears persist in Beirut that the group could attempt to undermine or overthrow the government.
A sustained conflict in Lebanon also threatens to complicate U.S. President Donald Trump’s parallel effort to wind down hostilities with Iran, Hezbollah’s primary sponsor. U.S.-Iran peace talks concluded in Pakistan on Sunday without a deal, though the breakdown was attributed to nuclear disagreements rather than the Lebanon situation.
Few officials expect an immediate breakthrough. Even if a peace framework emerges between the two governments, the prospect of Hezbollah voluntarily surrendering its weapons remains remote given its deep ideological and strategic ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.