Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold direct talks in Washington next week, in a development that could inject new momentum into fragile efforts to contain a widening regional conflict.
A State Department official confirmed to The National that the US will be hosting discussions focused on ceasefire negotiations between the two sides, marking a rare step towards direct engagement between countries that have technically remained at war since Israel’s founding in 1948.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorised talks “as soon as possible”, portraying them as part of a broader effort to dismantle Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that has dominated southern Lebanon for decades.
He stressed there was no ceasefire in place and said Israeli forces would continue striking Hezbollah positions until security is restored in northern Israel, where cross-border fire has displaced tens of thousands of people.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said Thursday that the group rejected direct negotiations with Israel and that the Lebanese government should demand a ceasefire as a precondition before any further steps are taken.
The announcement came after Israel launched what it described as its “largest co-ordinated strikes” on Lebanon since the war began, killing more than 300 people and wounding more than 1,000, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Analysts say the intensity of the latest strikes may have changed thinking in Tehran and its allies in Lebanon.
Israel said it hit about 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites in 10 minutes.
Hanin Ghaddar, an expert on Shiite politics in the Levant, said the scale of the strikes caught Hezbollah and its allies off-guard, increasing pressure on Iran to consider bringing Lebanon into negotiations.
“They weren’t expecting this kind of escalation,” Ms Ghaddar said. “They probably could have managed the previous rhythm but this was different.”
The escalation intensified calls to extend the US-Iran ceasefire, agreed to late on Tuesday, to include Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah – something Israel had rejected.
Separate but parallel tracks are now emerging, with US-Iran talks continuing independently while Lebanon and Israel are expected to engage directly.
The talks in Washington next week could give Israel greater leverage, including maintaining the option to resume military operations if negotiations falter, said Ms Ghaddar.
Informed sources told The National that President Donald Trump had effectively given Mr Netanyahu wide operational freedom there.
The sources said Tehran is using Hezbollah’s role on the battlefield in its anticipated indirect talks with Washington, treating the group as a “bargaining chip”.
They added that Iran could ultimately adjust its stance towards Hezbollah if it achieves wider concessions, possibly distancing itself from the group.
The sources also cautioned that the scale of destruction in Lebanon could deepen internal divisions. Prolonged fighting, they said, could shift Hezbollah’s standing domestically and increase tension with other Lebanese factions, echoing the unrest seen in May 2008.
David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said Lebanon’s refusal to confront Hezbollah is not preventing conflict but accelerating a slow national collapse sustained by the group.
"Lebanon is allowing itself to be killed through 1,000 paper cuts, only partially through these wars with Israel, but also because of Hezbollah," Mr Daoud told The National.
He added that Beirut was left out of ceasefire talks in Pakistan because it is regarded by Washington as a “secondary issue” to Iran.
Mr Daoud Daoud said Washington believes Israel can manage Hezbollah on its own, adding that US pressure appears to be influencing Israeli decision-making.
“Now we’re seeing Prime Minister Netanyahu saying, we’ll talk to Lebanon, even though this offer for direct negotiations has been on the table from the Lebanese for a month."
Ed Gabriel, a former US diplomat and head of the American Task Force on Lebanon, said Washington’s role as an intermediary would be critical for any progress.
“There’s a recognition that it’s going to take the United States sitting in the middle of a negotiation to help Lebanon and Israel deconflict,” Mr Gabriel said.
Direct engagement, he said, could help both sides reduce immediate tensions while laying the groundwork for longer-term arrangements, including support for the Lebanese Armed Forces as a stabilising force in the country.
