WASHINGTON (AFP) – Lebanon and Israel will hold a new round of peace talks on May 14-15 in Washington, a US official said Thursday, despite a new Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut.
The attack late Wednesday killed a senior commander of Hezbollah, with Israel saying it will keep targeting the Iranian-backed group despite a ceasefire in place in Lebanon.
Next week’s talks will be the third between Israel and Lebanon, which had not spoken directly for decades and have no diplomatic relations.
“There will be talks between Lebanon and Israel Thursday and Friday next week in Washington,” a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people since March 2, including dozens since a ceasefire was declared, according to Lebanese authorities.
At the last talks on April 23, the two sides met in the White House with President Donald Trump, who announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire.
He also said that he expected a historic meeting within the ceasefire period between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
But Aoun said Monday that the timing was not yet right for a meeting, saying that first the two countries must reach a security agreement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at a news conference on Tuesday, said that “there’s no problem between the Lebanese government and the Israeli government” and that Hezbollah was the issue.
“By and large, I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is eminently achievable and should be,” Rubio said.
Israel has carried out heavy bombings of Lebanon and as well as a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
