On Thursday afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened with Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter in the second round of talks in the first series of direct Lebanon-Israel dialogue since 1993.
The talks were planned to take place at the State Department, but prior to the meeting the location was announced to have changed to the White House.
A U.S. Official said to This Is Beirut that “the ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon will now take place at the White House. President Trump will greet both representatives upon their arrival.”
As the meeting concluded, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed that the meeting went “very well.”
He also announced on Truth Social that the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel will be extended for another 3 weeks and stated that the U.S. will “work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah.”
Trump further emphasized that he wants Lebanon to end its ban on communication with Israelis.
Commenting on the dialogue, Rubio said that Lebanon and Israel want peace and are victims of Hezbollah, and added that Lebanon and Israel will be closer to a permanent peace agreement within weeks.
Ambassador Yechiel Leiter echoed Rubio’s sentiments, expressing his hope that “we can formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon in the very near future” in the Oval Office after the meeting.
Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for their “effort to help and support Lebanon,” stating that “with your help and support, we can make Lebanon great again.”
As the Lebanon-Israel dialogue was underway, Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchanged fire.
The Israeli Air Force intercepted projectile launches fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon towards Shtula in northern Israel. Hezbollah claimed that its attacks were in response to “ceasefire violations.”
The Israeli army announced that it had subsequently attacked 2 missile launch platforms ready for launch and killed 3 Hezbollah operatives attempting to target Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
Arabic spokesperson to the Israeli army Avichay Adraee stated on X that a second wave of Hezbollah projectiles were fired towards Shlomi, followed by an Israeli attack on another armed launchpad in southern Lebanon.
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