Trump says Israel, Lebanon leaders to hold talks on April 16

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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has said that leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak on April 16 in what would be a historic first, but there was no confirmation from either side.

Mr Trump’s announcement comes as Washington pushes to ease hostilities following the first direct talks between the two countries in decades this week, when their ambassadors met in the US capital.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war on March 2 after the Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, attacked Israel.

Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million in Lebanon, despite international calls for a ceasefire. Israeli ground forces have also invaded the country’s south.

“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” Mr Trump said on April 15 on his Truth Social platform, referring to the ambassadors meeting held in Washington the day before – the first meeting of its kind since 1993.

Mr Trump said the leaders of Lebanon and Israel would speak on April 16, without identifying participants or giving further details.

An official Lebanese source told AFP however that “we are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side, and we have not been informed of any through official channels”.

Asked by AFP about Mr Trump’s announcement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no comment.

Analyst Michael Young of the Carnegie Middle East Centre told AFP that there had never before been contact between the leaders of Lebanon and Israel.

In September 1982, Mr Bachir Gemayel, elected Lebanese president in the wake of an Israeli invasion, met with Israeli leaders but was assassinated before taking office.

In 1992 and 1993, diplomats from the two countries met in Washington in the wake of a Middle East peace process launched at a conference in Madrid.

‘Durable peace’

A senior US administration official stressed that any end to the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is not part of talks between Washington and Tehran.

“The President would welcome the end of hostilities in Lebanon as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The United States wants to see a durable peace but did not demand an immediate ceasefire,” the official said, adding that negotiations between the US and Iran are not linked to ongoing peace talks between Israel and Lebanon.

Washington’s focus is on building trust between the Lebanese and Israeli governments “so that we can create space for a peace deal, and so that any future understandings can be durable”.

“Both sides need to build political momentum,” the official added.

Mr Netanyahu spoke on April 15 of two central objectives in the talks with Lebanon: “First, the dismantling of Hezbollah; second, a sustainable peace... achieved through strength.”

The Lebanese ambassador, Ms Nada Hamadeh Moawad, said she had called for a ceasefire in Lebanon during the meeting, which Israel has so far rejected.

Hezbollah condemned the talks, calling them “capitulation.”

On the ground, the Israeli army again on April 16 called on civilians to evacuate the entire area of southern Lebanon up to the Zahrani River, about 40 km north of the border.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several drone attacks targeting military positions in northern Israel and on Lebanese territory.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported clashes in Bint Jbeil, a town 5km from the border where Hezbollah fighters are battling the Israeli army. AFP