Overview
- The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met Tuesday at the State Department with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in what US officials described as preparatory talks.
- US officials said the meeting would scope long-term security on Israel’s northern border and support Lebanon’s sovereignty, stressing that Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not the Lebanese state.
- Positions stayed far apart as Lebanese leaders pressed for a ceasefire and said their envoy was authorized only for that topic, while Israel ruled out a truce and demanded Hezbollah’s disarmament and a demilitarized south.
- Hezbollah rejected the process outright, with leader Naim Qassem urging cancellation and senior figure Wafiq Safa saying the group will not honor any outcome, and the militia kept firing into northern Israel as talks began.
- Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports at least 2,089 people killed and over one million displaced as Israeli airstrikes and a ground offensive in the south continue to destroy homes and empty towns.