KABUL (Pajhwok): US President Donald Trump has said that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold talks on Thursday for the first time in 34 years.
The announcement came on Wednesday, a day after Israeli and Lebanese envoys to Washington held direct discussions in Washington, D.C. on ending Israeli attacks on its northern neighbor, according to Al Jazeera.
“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It has been a long time since the two leaders last spoke — about 34 years. That will happen tomorrow. Nice!”
The US president did not specify which leaders would participate in the talks.
Lebanon was drawn into the US–Israel war with Iran on March 2, after Hezbollah resumed attacks on Israel.
The group said its actions were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war, February 28. Hezbollah also accused Israel of near-daily violations of a ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon in November 2024.
Since March 2, Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced over 1.2 million others.
The Israeli military has also launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, aiming to seize additional territory and establish what it describes as a “buffer zone.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered the military to expand its operations eastward in southern Lebanon.
He said Israel was pursuing negotiations with the Lebanese government alongside its military campaign against Hezbollah, with the aim of disarming the group and achieving what he described as a “sustainable peace” with its northern neighbor.
The Lebanese government, which is not a direct party to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, has called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
PAN Monitor/sa
