As the Israeli army continues its strikes on Lebanon, President Donald Trump asserts that the two countries should start negotiations on Thursday, April 16. This is information that Lebanon claims not to have been aware of.
The “leaders” of Israel and Lebanon will speak to each other on Thursday, April 16, President Trump said on Wednesday evening after direct discussions this week between the two countries.
This announcement comes as Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2. The Lebanese pro-Iranian movement claimed responsibility on Thursday morning for several drone attacks targeting military positions in northern Israel.
“We are trying to create a bit of a pause between Israel and Lebanon. The two leaders have not spoken to each other in a long time, about 34 years. It’s going to happen tomorrow,” Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social network without specifying, however, which leaders he was referring to.
On the other hand, an official source told AFP that Lebanon was unaware of this meeting. “We are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side and we have not been informed through official channels,” the source said.
“Establishing lasting peace”
A senior US official had previously stated that President Trump would find it “welcome to end hostilities in Lebanon” with a peace agreement with Israel.
However, he specified that this possible agreement was not part of the negotiations between the United States and Iran aimed at achieving a lasting end to the conflict in the Middle East, triggered on February 28 by an Israeli-American attack on Iran. A ceasefire has been in effect since April 8.
“The United States wants to see lasting peace established, but has not demanded an immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah, the official told the press on condition of anonymity.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Tuesday to start direct negotiations following discussions between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, the first of their kind since 1993. Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad said she called for a ceasefire in Lebanon during the meeting, which Israel has so far rejected.
Hezbollah, which dragged Lebanon into the war in early March after attacking Israel in retaliation for the Israeli-American offensive against Tehran, denounced the discussions between the two countries, calling them “surrender.” Since early March, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have resulted in over 2,000 deaths and one million displaced people.
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