The United States will host a new round of talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington on Thursday, as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah is being implemented, a State Department official confirmed to AFP on Monday.
"We continue to facilitate talks, directly and in good faith, between the two governments," the source said on condition of anonymity, adding that they will be held again at ambassadorial level, as was the first round on April 14.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that direct negotiations with Israel, which Hezbollah rejects, aim to secure a lasting end to the war and the Israeli occupation of parts of the country's south.
Despite a ceasefire in place since Friday between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency ANI reported an Israeli drone strike in the south, in Kaqaiyat al-Jisr, on the banks of the Litani River.
Israeli bombings have killed 2,387 people and forced more than a million Lebanese citizens to flee their homes since March 2, according to an official update released yesterday.
The 10-day ceasefire was announced after a meeting last week between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, the first in decades.
Tehran has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon, describing its implementation as a necessary condition for continuing talks with Washington aimed at ending the war that the US and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic on February 28.
However, Washington insists that the two issues are not related.
