Lebanon and Israel to hold first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington

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BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon and Israel are set to hold the first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group that has rocked the tiny Mediterranean country.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take part in the talks in Washington with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

At least 2,089 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, among them 252 women, 166 children and 88 medical workers, while 6,762 others were wounded. More than 1 million people are displaced.

The Lebanese government hopes the talks will pave the way to an end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the United States, Lebanon insists on representing itself.

Hezbollah and critics are skeptical and believe Lebanon's government in Beirut has no leverage and should take advantage of the position of Iran, the group's key ally and patron.

The Israeli military continues an invasion into southern Lebanon, which some Israeli officials have said aims to create a depopulated “security zone” from the border to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles). Iran-backed Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.

The Israeli and Lebanese governments are meeting to discuss ways to ensure long-term security on Israel’s northern border and support for Lebanon seeking to take control of its territory and political future from Iran-backed Hezbollah, a U.S. State Department official said.

They will be the first talks between the two since 1993, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lebanon's top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah's decision to fire rockets towards Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.

Israel did not respond positively until last week, after it launched 100 strikes across the country, including in the heart of the Lebanese capital.

Beirut wants a truce as a prerequisite to talks, similar to Pakistan-brokered negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

“Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories is not the solution, nor will it yield any results,” said President Joseph Aoun Monday, who came to power vowing to disarm non-state groups including Hezbollah. “Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be the most effective means of resolving armed conflicts globally.”

Israel has ruled out a ceasefire.

"We will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah , which continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks against Israel and our civilians,” Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Monday.

Hezbollah and its supporters have been critical, calling it a free concession to Israel.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem delivered a fiery speech calling on Lebanon to cancel the talks. Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted indirectly with the U.S., France and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon as mediators.

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Lee reported from Washington.