Israel launched new attacks on Lebanon on Sunday after the United States and Iran failed to reach a quick peace deal over the weekend.
Last week, President Trump asked Israel to scale back its attacks on Lebanon. The fighting in recent days, which Israel says is targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, appears to be focused on southern Lebanon; Israel has not bombed the capital, Beirut, since an onslaught on Wednesday.
Israeli and Lebanese officials plan to meet for rare talks in Washington this coming week.
On Sunday, two Israeli attacks on towns in southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, according to Lebanon’s official news agency. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the raids on Sunday.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired more rockets toward Israel over the weekend. The Israeli military said that it had struck a rocket launcher in southern Lebanon overnight that was poised to fire toward Israel.
Israel’s ongoing invasion of Lebanon has been a source of tension in the cease-fire with Iran. Iran had demanded that the truce extend to Lebanon as well. But Israel and the United States said it was not part of their agreement.
Hours after the cease-fire was announced, Israel bombarded Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday. That wave of Israeli strikes killed more than 300 people, according to the Lebanese authorities. It was the deadliest day of fighting since Hezbollah joined the fray in early March by firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran. Israeli officials said that about 200 of those killed in Lebanon on Wednesday belonged to Hezbollah, without providing any evidence.
One person familiar with Israeli policy decisions said on Sunday that Israel’s ongoing campaign was focused on southern Lebanon, and it was holding back from targeting Beirut and the city’s outskirts. The Israeli military declined to comment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night that Israel was “still active” on the Lebanese front.
“We are fighting Hezbollah and we are determined, I am determined, to return security to the residents” of northern Israel, he said.
He added that the preparatory talks expected between Israel and Lebanon would focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and efforts to reach a lasting peace between the two countries. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States are expected to meet in Washington on Tuesday.
Differences have already emerged over the scope of that meeting.
The office of President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon said on Friday that the parties agreed to discuss a cease-fire announcement and the setting of a date for the start of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under U.S. auspices.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel had “agreed to begin formal peace negotiations this coming Tuesday,” but that it “refused to discuss a cease-fire” with Hezbollah.
The Israeli authorities appear to be bracing for the possibility of more fighting and Hezbollah fire in the lead-up to the meeting planned for Tuesday. Restrictions limiting public gatherings were tightened in the northern border areas of Israel and a decision to reopen schools there on Sunday was reversed.
Hwaida Saad and Reham Mourshed contributed reporting.
Isabel Kershner, a senior correspondent for The Times in Jerusalem, has been reporting on Israeli and Palestinian affairs since 1990.
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