Shafaq News – Beirut (Updated on Nov, 21 at 9:00)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reaffirmed on Thursday that Lebanon is prepared to enter negotiations with Israel, saying the country “will not miss the opportunity for regional change this time.”

Speaking to reporters, Salam noted that Lebanon has previously entered discussions with Israel, citing the maritime border talks launched nearly two years ago, and stressed that the government is prepared to undertake similar efforts again.

Salam expressed surprise at what he described as contradictory signals from Israeli officials. “It is puzzling to me that they call for negotiations, yet when we show readiness, they refuse to meet,” he said, adding that the issue will be raised with Washington to open a formal negotiating track.

Earlier, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said negotiations are Lebanon’s only option to avoid new Israeli attacks.

Despite the November 27, 2024, truce, Israeli strikes have continued across southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, targeting alleged "Hezbollah sites." To halt its attacks and withdraw from the areas it occupies in southern Lebanon, Israel has demanded that Hezbollah be completely disarmed—a move the group rejects as serving "the entity's [Israel] interests."

From November 27, 2024 to November 20, 2025, Israeli forces committed a total of 5,350 violations—2,983 air incursions, 2,198 ground breaches, and 169 maritime violations—resulting in 337 deaths and 642 injuries, including women and children, according to Lebanese authorities.