Israel and Lebanon are meeting in D.C. on Tuesday for high-level diplomatic talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The Lebanese ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, is meeting Israeli counterpart, Yechiel Leiter, for working-level talks hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The meeting comes amid a shaky two-week ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran during which the Trump administration imposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz after peace negotiations in Pakistan collapsed over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Rubio said that the focus of the talks would be on Hezbollah, a political and paramilitary group in Lebanon.
“This is about bringing a permanent answer to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah’s influence in this part of the world,” he said, “not just the damage that’s inflicted on Israel, the damage that’s inflicted on the Lebanese people.”
“This is a process, not an event. This is more than just one day,” Rubio added.
Here’s what to know.
Why Israel and Lebanon are meeting
In addition to joining U.S. strikes on Iran, Israel carried out a bombing campaign against Hezbollah, Tehran’s most powerful proxy in Lebanon. It fired rockets at Israel as revenge for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the beginning of the war.
The Israeli campaign has included heavy bombardment of Beirut, as well as a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, where residents were ordered out of more than 10 percent of the country, displacing about 1 million people, according to the United Nations. Over 2,000 people have been killed, including 252 women and 166 children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Hezbollah strikes have killed at least 12 soldiers and two civilians, Israel says, and it maintains that the operations in southern Lebanon are essential to guarantee the security of residents in the country’s north.
Since the Trump administration announced the start of a ceasefire with Iran, there has been dispute over whether Israel’s campaign in Lebanon was part of it. Pakistan, which mediated the deal, and Iran insist it was, describing it as an intrinsic part of the agreement, while Israel remains emphatic it was not.
Vice President JD Vance described the disagreement over Lebanon’s inclusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding,” telling reporters, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t.”
Israel has ignored calls to respect the truce, insisting it will continue to attack Hezbollah. It unleashed its heaviest attack on Beirut on Wednesday last week, killing more than 300 people, and has carried out further strikes since.
Historic talks come at Lebanon’s request
Israel and Lebanon have not held direct talks with a goal of normalizing relations in decades, and they are likely to be fraught with difficulty as both sides remain far apart.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would open direct negotiations at Lebanon’s request. “The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishing of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon,” he wrote on X.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said the sides will discuss “the announcement of a ceasefire and the date for starting negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American sponsorship.”
The State Department said the talks will focus on “how to ensure the long-term security of Israel’s northern border and to support the Government of Lebanon’s determination to reclaim full sovereignty over its territory and political life.” Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not Lebanon, it added in a statement ahead of the meeting, saying there is “no reason the two neighbors should not be talking.”
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and State Department counselor Michael Needham also attended Tuesday’s talks.
A gulf remains between two sides
Lebanon hopes for a ceasefire to be implemented ahead of further discussions, similar to the deal between the U.S. and Iran, a Lebanese government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Last month, in response to escalating Israeli attacks, Lebanon’s government appealed to U.S. and European leaders to intervene, calling for a ceasefire and support for the Lebanese army to seize Hezbollah’s arsenal, The Washington Post previously reported.
Leiter, who is leading the Israeli team, said it had agreed to begin formal peace negotiations but “refused to discuss a ceasefire” with Hezbollah, saying the group “continues to attack Israel and is the main obstacle to peace between the two countries.”
Netanyahu said in a video statement Saturday that he approved the talks Lebanon initiated under two conditions: “the disarming of Hezbollah” and “a peace agreement that will last for generations.” On Sunday, Netanyahu visited southern Lebanon, where he said “the war continues, including inside the security zone in Lebanon,” in a video surrounded by Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, who is not party to the talks, called for them to be canceled on the eve of the meeting, describing them as futile. He urged an end to Israeli “aggression,” as well as a withdrawal from Lebanese territories, the release of prisoners and allowing Lebanese people to return to their homes. Until then, he said, “our decision in the resistance is that we will neither calm down nor surrender — the battlefield will speak,” he said.
On Saturday, Hezbollah supporters rallied outside Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office in protest of the talks. In an effort to calm internal tensions, Salam later called off a planned trip to the U.S. scheduled for this week.
Ahead of the talks, the Israel Defense Forces continued its attacks on Hezbollah, striking about 150 targets in southern Lebanon. It is also carrying out ground operations in the Bint Jbeil area in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has also launched strikes at Israel throughout the war.
There were also splits within the Lebanese government about its position. Another Lebanese government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said they did not believe the talks would lead to a ceasefire. “What does Lebanon have to offer on a negotiating table? Nothing,” the official said.
Soroka reported from Tel Aviv, and Haidamous reported from Beirut. Mohamad El Chamaa in Beirut contributed to this report.
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