Both sides are under pressure from Trump to bring about an end to the fighting, a key demand by Iran in parallel talks due this weekend in Pakistan.

Israel intensified its air attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on March 2, three days into the US-Israeli war on Iran. It has since ‌widened a ground invasion into Lebanon’s south, ordering hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to flee villages it views as Hezbollah strongholds.

At least 1,888 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, while at least two Israelis have died from Hezbollah rocket fire.

The current war followed a round of fighting in 2024 that saw the US broker a deal aimed at disarming Hezbollah. Since then, Lebanon’s government has ordered the army to establish a state monopoly on those arms, an ​effort Israel says has failed.

Hezbollah rejects calls to disarm, viewing its missiles and other weapons as an element of national defence against Israeli attacks. Following the 2024 deal, Israel continued ​to carry out strikes on what it said were Hezbollah depots and fighters.

A week into the current war, Lebanon’s President ? Joseph Aoun expressed willingness to begin direct negotiations with Israel to halt the fighting, even saying he was ready to move forward with normalising relations.

Israel rebuffed that historic offer, deeming it too late ​from a government that shares its goal of disarming Hezbollah but cannot act against the group without risking a civil war.

Israel’s position changed after the US and Iran reached a deal on Tuesday to halt ​fighting. With Iran insisting that Israel ceasefire on Lebanon ahead of talks in Pakistan, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Thursday to lighten up attacks on Hezbollah, a source familiar with the matter said.

Later on Thursday, Netanyahu announced Israel would begin negotiations with Lebanon.

Two Israeli officials said that talks would be held in Washington between Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, ​Nada Hamadeh Moawad. One of the officials said the two would meet next week.

In the run-up to the talks, Netanyahu tapped Ron Dermer, a former foreign minister and close confidant, to lead any ​eventual negotiations with Lebanon. A source familiar with the matter said Dermer may take part in later talks but was not expected in Washington next week.

Lebanon had also picked Simon Karam, a former Lebanese ambassador to the ‌US, to head ? Lebanon’s delegation to broader talks. Lebanese officials said he would not be at next week’s meeting either.

Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel would not halt attacks on Hezbollah.

He said that the talks would aim to achieve two goals: disarming Hezbollah and securing a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

Netanyahu and other officials have not said whether they would be prepared to scale back ground operations or withdraw from positions in Lebanon, should talks advance. Israel has been bombing Lebanese villages as it seeks to create a “buffer zone” against Hezbollah past its northern border.

A senior Israeli official said Israel would scale down attacks ​ahead of the talks. A different senior Israeli ​official, with knowledge of discussions in Netanyahu’s cabinet, said Israel would urge Lebanon to sack Hezbollah ministers in the country’s government.

A senior Lebanese official said talks would focus on discussing and announcing a ceasefire, and that an exact date for the meeting has yet to be confirmed.

The official said Lebanon’s position was that a ceasefire ​was a condition for further talks to reach a broader deal with Israel.

Lebanon’s agreement to hold talks reflects unprecedented levels of domestic opposition to ​Hezbollah’s status as an armed group. In March, the government banned Hezbollah from military activities.

But with Hezbollah still wielding a powerful arsenal and backed by a significant portion of Lebanon’s Muslim community, disarming the group is a steep challenge for a fragile Lebanese state now facing one of its most precarious moments since the 1975-90 civil war.

Have the two held talks before?

Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic relations and have technically been in a state of war ​since Israel’s founding in 1948.

Israel has a long history of military incursions and invasions in Lebanon, including an 18-year occupation ​in the south from 1982 to 2000 that began as an operation against Palestinian groups.

More recently, Israel and Lebanon held US-brokered talks in 2022 that led to a bilateral agreement establishing a maritime boundary between the two countries.

In December 2025, the two sides held ​indirect talks with the US in Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, to try to solidify the deal that ended the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah fighting.