Talks between Lebanon and Israel took place in Washington on Tuesday with “productive discussions” on steps towards direct negotiations, the US State Department said.

The talks came after the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire last week. Israel also agreed to stop attacking Iran, but continued to strike targets in Lebanon that it says are linked to militant group Hezbollah.

In the past six weeks, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and injured more than 7,000, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

Forced displacement orders have driven at least one million Lebanese people out of their homes and sparked fears that a land grab by Israel would result in the permanent loss of territory.

Hosted by The National's foreign editor Mohamad Ali Harisi, our panel, including Dr Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute and correspondents Nada Homsi, Nada Maucourant Atallah and Sunniva Rose, discussed the latest developments.