WASHINGTON: Lebanon and Israel will hold the next round of talks in Washington on May 14-15 aimed at advancing efforts towards a peace agreement, a United States official said on Thursday, despite renewed Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
“There will be talks between Lebanon and Israel on Thursday and Friday next week in Washington,” a US State Department official said as quoted by AFP.
The upcoming talks will mark the third round of direct talks between the two countries, which had not engaged directly for decades before recent US-led mediation efforts.
The announcement came a day after Israel carried out its first strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since a US-brokered ceasefire was declared last month.
Israel said the strike targeted and killed a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force. Hezbollah has not confirmed the commander’s death.
Ceasefire under pressure
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no “immunity” for Israel’s enemies.
“He likely read in the press that he had immunity in Beirut. Well, he read it and it is no longer the case,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
The Israeli military identified the Hezbollah commander as Ahmed Ali Balout and accused him of directing attacks against Israeli forces from Beirut.
“I say to our enemies in the clearest possible way: No immunity,” Netanyahu said.
לאף מחבל אין חסינות. כל מי שמאיים על מדינת ישראל – דמו בראשו. pic.twitter.com/EbhbjVuEdi
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 7, 2026
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed on March 2 after Hezbollah opened fire on Israel following the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
A ceasefire announced on April 16 by US President Donald Trump reduced fighting, although both sides have continued exchanging fire in southern Lebanon.
Israel has maintained what it describes as a security zone extending up to 10 kilometres into southern Lebanon.
Wednesday’s strike on Beirut increased pressure on the fragile ceasefire, which emerged alongside a broader regional truce involving the United States and Iran.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 2,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2, including dozens after the ceasefire took effect. Around 1.2 million people have been displaced.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health announced that the death toll from the expanded Israeli aggression has risen to more than 2,700 people killed and 8,311 wounded since March 2, 2026.https://t.co/Y0duOlWAao
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 5, 2026
Israel says 17 soldiers and two civilians have been killed since the fighting resumed.
Washington pushes next round of talks
The previous round of talks took place at the White House on April 23, when Trump announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire.
Trump also said he hoped to host a meeting between Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun during the ceasefire period.
However, Aoun said on Monday that the timing was not yet right for such a meeting and stressed that a security agreement must first be reached.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also said on Wednesday that it was premature to discuss any high-level political meeting between Lebanon and Israel, adding that reinforcing the ceasefire remained the immediate priority.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Hezbollah remained the main obstacle to peace.
“There’s no problem between the Lebanese government and the Israeli government,” Rubio said during a news conference.
“By and large, I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is eminently achievable and should be,” he added.
The United States is attempting to reduce Israeli military activity in Lebanon while consolidating the ceasefire and advancing negotiations between the two sides, a Lebanese official said as cited Al Jazeera.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon
Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon on Thursday.
Lebanese state media reported that one person was killed and several others wounded in Israeli attacks, a day after Israel targeted a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
Lebanese health authorities said at least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes across three areas of southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
An Israeli strike on Wednesday also killed four people in the eastern Bekaa Valley, with Israel saying the operation targeted Hezbollah positions.
Hezbollah said it carried out 17 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said it struck more than 15 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon the same day.
Israel says Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets and drones since March 2, while Hezbollah maintains it has the right to resist Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon.
