NETANYAHU ORDERS DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS WITH LEBANON

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By: Balogun Ibrahim

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet to initiate direct talks with Lebanon, amid Iranian condemnation of Israeli strikes as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

Netanyahu said the negotiations will focus on “disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon.”

The announcement comes after Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes killed 303 people and wounded over 1,000 in attacks across the country yesterday.

Earlier, Netanyahu asserted that Israel would target Hezbollah “wherever necessary,” while the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for sections of Beirut.

Diplomatic sources suggest that Netanyahu’s call for talks may indicate the United States is pushing Israel to scale back its military operations, according to our diplomatic correspondent.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for direct talks with the Lebanese government may signal the first indication that the White House wants Israel to scale back its destructive air campaign.

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Although both Israel and the United States maintain that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire agreement, Washington is aware that ongoing conflict in the country could undermine any prospects for progress at upcoming talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.

According to reports from Israel, the military has warned that Hezbollah cannot be disarmed without a full-scale occupation of Lebanon.

Netanyahu has urged that talks with Lebanon begin “as soon as possible,” though how this aligns with recent Israeli military evacuation orders for civilians in Beirut’s southern suburbs remains unclear.

Most civilians have already left the area, but it remains possible that further strikes could occur before diplomacy takes effect.