The State Department in the United States has said that a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Washington, DC, next week, Al Jazeera reports.
The statement on Friday came shortly after Israel and Hezbollah announced a renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, where ongoing fighting has threatened to derail the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end the war.
The pair discussed the upcoming talks scheduled for June 23 and 25, “where the two sovereign governments will make progress toward a lasting peace”.
Israel and Lebanon held their first in a series of direct talks in April, the first time the countries had met since 1993.
Following that meeting and a subsequent round of talks in June, Israel and Lebanon announced pauses in fighting.
However, the talks have not included Hezbollah, hampering any meaningful progress.
Following the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024, the government in Lebanon has been seeking to disarm Hezbollah as a part of a US-backed roadmap.
The Lebanese government has also pushed for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. However, the text of an agreement reached in June called for Hezbollah’s withdrawal to north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, but did not call for Israel’s full withdrawal.
