Benjamin Netanyahu

Lebanon and Israel Agree on Peace, Disagree on Sequence

The Lebanese and Israeli governments are fully aligned on the goal of their diplomatic talks. When all is said and done, Hezbollah will be fully disarmed, Israel will have ended its security actions in Lebanon and fully withdrawn, and the border will be demarcated. The two countries will then have reached a bilateral peace agreement. The challenge ...

Netanyahu: Lebanon Held ‘Hostage’ by Hezbollah and Iran

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel seeks peace with Lebanon but argued that Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has effectively taken control of the country and holds the Lebanese people “hostage.” Netanyahu claimed Hezbollah had planned an October 7-style attack on Israel’s Galilee ...

U.S. Awaits Iran Response to Latest Deal Offer

The United States was waiting on Thursday for Iran to respond to its latest proposed deal to end the war in the Middle East and to reopen the key shipping lane out of the Gulf. Oil prices tumbled five percent after U.S. President Donald Trump said once again that an agreement could be near after positive talks and Iran said it would pass on its ...

Senior Hezbollah Commander Killed in Israeli Strikes in Beirut Suburbs: Source Close to Group

A senior commander from Hezbollah's elite force was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, the first on the area in nearly a month, a source close to the group said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military had targeted "the commander of Hezbollah's Radwan force". The source close to Hezbollah ...

Hezbollah Signals Openness to Indirect Talks with Israel

In a notable shift in tone, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Naim Qassem signaled for the first time openness to indirect negotiations with Israel, framing diplomacy as a viable path—while firmly rejecting any form of direct talks. “We support diplomacy that stops the aggression and enforces agreements,” Qassem said in a statement on Monday, ...

U.S. Ambassador Issa: Aoun–Trump Meeting Would Not Be a Concession

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said Monday that a potential meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not be viewed as a loss or concession for Lebanon. Speaking in a live address, Issa stressed that such a meeting would provide an opportunity for ...

Trump’s Deal of the Century for Lebanon

Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas do not end wars; they only pause them. They make limited concessions to secure a ceasefire, only to exploit the fragile status quo to rearm and prepare for the next round. This is why they shun direct negotiations, whether between Lebanon and Israel or the U.S. and Iran, preferring instead to haggle over irrelevant ...

Netanyahu Warns Israel Can Strike Anywhere in Iranian Airspace

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday in a recorded speech that Israel is capable of striking “anywhere in Iranian airspace" in a renewed warning to Tehran as indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States continue through Pakistani mediation. Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli pilots are “ready” to ...

Lebanon Ceasefire Opens a Diplomatic Window, Now Comes the Hard Part

When the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel met at the White House on April 23, it was the kind of image that would have seemed unthinkable just months earlier. Their joint appearance alongside President Donald Trump — to announce a three-week extension of the cessation of hostilities — was a shift from decades of indirect, back-channel ...

U.S. Urges Meeting Between Lebanese President, Israeli PM

The U.S. embassy in Lebanon on Thursday urged a meeting between Lebanese and Israeli leaders as the health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country's south killed at least 15 people despite an ongoing ceasefire. Israeli and Lebanese representatives this month have met twice in Washington -- the first such meetings in decades -- after ...

Israeli Army Strikes Bekaa Valley as Targets Expand

The Israeli military said it was “currently striking Hezbollah infrastructure in the Bekaa Valley” on Monday, marking the first time since the Israel–Lebanon ceasefire began that it has hit targets outside southern Lebanon.  Like the south, the Hermel and Baalbeck areas of the eastern Bekaa Valley are predominantly Shia areas and a ...