Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Thursday that he had directed his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with the Lebanese government, even as Israeli forces continued military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“In light of repeated requests from Lebanon to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said.
“The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace between Israel and Lebanon,” he added.
The announcement came as the Israeli military intensified its campaign in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces resumed strikes on March 2, two days after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
According to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesperson, Israeli forces struck 100 Hezbollah targets on Wednesday.
The attacks reportedly left at least 254 people dead and 1,165 others injured, according to Lebanon’s General Directorate of Civil Defense.
Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, described Wednesday as the deadliest day in Lebanon since Israel resumed strikes last month.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his government would submit a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over the attacks.
Salam and his cabinet also directed Lebanese army and security agencies to reinforce security in Beirut, where at least 92 people were killed and 742 others wounded during Wednesday’s strikes, according to the General Directorate of Civil Defense.
He added that security forces would ensure that weapons in Beirut remain only in the hands of “legitimate forces,” in what was seen as a move against Hezbollah. Netanyahu welcomed the decision, saying he “appreciates” the move.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of breaching the two-week ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran earlier this week.
Israel’s “repeated aggression” against Lebanon is a “flagrant violation” of the truce, Pezeshkian wrote online on Thursday.
“The continuation of these aggressions will render negotiations meaningless; our hands will remain on the trigger, and Iran will never abandon its Lebanese brothers and sisters,” he wrote.
Shortly after President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire, Netanyahu’s office clarified that the agreement did not extend to Lebanon.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance repeated that position on Wednesday, saying Washington had never suggested that the ceasefire covered Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
“I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding,” he said. “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
