Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday, instructed his ministers to initiate direct talks and negotiations with Lebanon, focusing on disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah while continuing to strike Hezbollah with force, precision, and determination.
The negotiations aim to address Hezbollah’s disarmament and establish peaceful coexistence between Israel and Iran. According to a State Department official, the talks will be held in Washington next week, amid global concerns and fears that Israel’s airstrikes might collapse the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran. However, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said that the group rejects direct negotiations with Israel, insisting that the Lebanese government demand a ceasefire as a prerequisite for further steps.
In addition, Fayyad noted that the government’s position should also prioritise the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory and the return of displaced people.
This move comes after Israel’s heaviest strikes on Lebanon, which displaced over I, 000 people, killed over 200 people, and wounded more than 1,000, sparking concerns about the fragile Washington-Tehran truce.
”We can confirm that the Department will host a meeting next week to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon,” the department official said. But a Lebanese government official has stated that Beirut has demanded a truce before entering any negotiations with Israel.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry has stated that at least 303 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded on Wednesday in Israeli strikes in Central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon, while the death toll since March 2 has risen to 1,888 and more than 6,000 wounded.
Further, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) on Thursday reported that the Israeli army targeted the centre of the town of Bint Jbeil with shelling from heavy artillery and also blew up residential neighbourhoods in the town of Aita al-Shaab, while Hezbollah has also announced about 20 operations against Israel and targeted Israeli vehicles within Lebanon.
Meanwhile, in what seemed like the end of the violence is still far-fetched, Israel’s military on Thursday issued a new evacuation order for Beirut’s southern suburbs while stating that it will continue to strike Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon. In a post on the US Social Media platform X, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee called on residents to leave their homes immediately.
”Evacuate your homes immediately, especially in areas such as Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Laylaki, Hadath, Burj al-Barajneh, Tahwitat al-Ghadir, Chiyah, and Jnah,” he stated.
Conversely, the World Health Organization on Thursday called on Israel to cancel the evacuation order it issued to the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who made this call, said the Jnah district included the Rafik Hariri University Hospital and Al Zahraa Hospital, currently accommodating some 450 patients.
”At this time, no alternative medical facilities are available to receive the patients. The evacuation of the intensive care patients was operationally unfeasible, and both facilities were operating at full capacity, including treating those wounded by Israeli strikes on Wednesday, he declared.
While the search for a lasting truce continues in this war that has transmuted into a war of narratives, the lack of trust between both sides remains an albatross to finding a leeway to this ugly quagmire.
