Shafaq News- Washington
Lebanese and Israeli negotiating delegations formally opened a new round of direct talks at the US State Department in Washington on Thursday, according to the Israeli Army Radio, with sessions scheduled to run through May 15.
The talks came against a backdrop of continuing Israeli military activity across Lebanon. Lebanese authorities have recorded more than 8,500 Israeli raids since March 2, which, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, have killed 2,896 people and injured 8,824 others, including women and children.
Lebanese official sources, quoted by local media, said that Lebanon's delegation will demand that Israel halt all strikes and military operations in Lebanese territory and refer any suspected Hezbollah sites to a joint monitoring mechanism rather than act unilaterally. The sources added that Lebanon does not consider the existing ceasefire guarantees sufficient.
Israel, for its part, is insisting on the right to continue operations in southern Lebanon. Washington has told Beirut it is pressing to prevent any strikes on the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs, the sources said.
A ceasefire extension is expected, though its duration remains unresolved. Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon is conditioned on the disarmament of Hezbollah, and Israel is seeking to expand a buffer zone in the south to a depth exceeding ten kilometers —a demand framed around neutralizing the threat posed by Hezbollah drone capabilities.
Lebanon's negotiating team is led by former ambassador Simon Karam, joined by Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, and military representatives. Israel's delegation is headed by its Washington ambassador, Yechiel Leiter —a personal envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Lebanese and Syrian affairs and Israel's primary liaison with Washington across most bilateral files— accompanied by a military figure.
The US side includes Washington's envoys to Israel and Lebanon, Mike Huckabee and Michel Issa.
The previous round was held at the White House, with President Donald Trump attending alongside his vice president and secretary of state, as well as the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors.