U.S. hosting second round of Israel-Lebanon talks this week, official says
The U.S. will host a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon later this week, a State Department official told CBS News.
The ambassador-level talks are expected to take place Thursday at the State Department.
“The United States welcomes the productive engagement that began on April 14,” the official told CBS News. “We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments.”
A U.S.-brokered 10-day ceasefire that began last Thursday has remained shaky, with ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon and several violation claims by Hezbollah and Lebanese officials.
The fragile truce followed the first direct Israel-Lebanon talks in decades, which were hosted by the U.S. and attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Counselor Mike Needham, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanon’s Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
