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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to take part Tuesday in direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, alongside the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, in what the U.S. described as the first such high-level negotiations between the two sides since 1993.
The State Department confirmed that Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., and Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S., would also attend the meeting, scheduled to begin at around 11 a.m. ET.
The talks were due to begin as fighting on the Israel-Lebanon front intensified and as the death toll in Lebanon continued to rise.
In a statement ahead of the meeting, a State Department official said the talks were being brokered by the United States and were a direct result of Hezbollah’s actions.
“As a direct result of Hizballah’s reckless actions, the Israeli and Lebanese governments are engaging in open, direct, high-level diplomatic talks - the first such talks since 1993 - brokered by the United States,” the official said, using another spelling for Hezbollah.
The official said the discussions would focus on the long-term security of Israel’s northern border and on support for Lebanon’s efforts to reassert control over its territory and political life.
“This conversation will scope the ongoing dialogue about how to ensure the long-term security of Israel’s northern border and to support the Government of Lebanon’s determination to reclaim full sovereignty over its territory and political life,” the official said.
The official also said: “Israel is at war with Hizballah, not Lebanon, so there is no reason the two neighbors should not be talking.”
The talks were opposed by Hezbollah, whose leader Naim Qassem said Monday that the Iran-backed group “absolutely rejects” the negotiations.
Qassem said the talks amounted to “submission, surrender, and stripping Lebanon of its strength.”
He also called for the negotiations to be canceled.
“The opportunity is still there. We call for a historic and heroic position to cancel these negotiations,” Qassem said.
The talks were taking place as the conflict in Lebanon continued to exact a heavy toll.
According to the latest figures from Lebanon’s health ministry, Israel has killed at least 2,089 people in Lebanon in its fight against Hezbollah.
The ministry also said at least 6,762 people had been wounded during the conflict.
The fighting began on March 2, when the Iran-backed group fired rockets at northern Israel in solidarity with Iran and in retaliation for the killing of the country’s supreme leader.
Before the meeting in Washington, strikes across both sides of the border and fierce ground fighting in southern Lebanon intensified.
Israel has launched a ground invasion and an aerial bombardment campaign, including strikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Israel says its military action is necessary to confront Hezbollah.
But the campaign has displaced more than 1 million people in southern Lebanon and drawn international condemnation.
The Washington meeting was set to mark the first direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon since 1993, taking place against a backdrop of intensified fighting, rising casualties and open opposition from Hezbollah.
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