Israeli forces launched an attack on Monday to seize the key town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon from Hezbollah fighters ahead of the diplomatic talks between Israeli and Lebanese envoys in Washington.
The unusual face-to-face meeting between the countries’ ambassadors is set for Tuesday at the U.S.
Department of State. Lebanon’s Foreign Minister said Beirut would use the talks to press for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict, which has complicated broader Middle East diplomacy.
Israel has made clear it will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah, which Lebanon’s top Hezbollah-affiliated lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said rejects direct negotiations with Israel. “This move violates the national pact and the constitution, exacerbating domestic divisions at a time Lebanon most needs solidarity,” he said.
The town, a Hezbollah stronghold and provincial capital, has strategic and symbolic significance, and Lebanese sources said fighters inside were prepared to resist “to the death,” Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli forces completed an encirclement of Bint Jbeil and began a ground assault, according to an Israeli military spokesperson and Lebanese security officials.
In a historic first, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, held a weekend phone call with his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad. Leiter, a U.S.-born settlement activist and longtime figure in Israeli politics, said the Washington talks will mark the start of formal peace negotiations with Lebanon—though Hezbollah will be excluded.
The conflict has killed nearly 2,000 people in recent weeks, displaced over a million, and intensified tensions across the region. Israel has violated a November 2024 ceasefire hundreds of times, while Iran and Lebanon have demanded hostilities stop before meaningful negotiations can proceed, Al Jazeera reported.
