Israel on Thursday announced it would open direct negotiations with Lebanon after a massive wave of strikes and U.S. officials reportedly pressured officials to tone down their bombing runs.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a short statement saying that he had instructed his cabinet to allow negotiations with Lebanon with the goal of “establishing peace relations,” according to Euro News. The move comes after Israel launched a series of devastating strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite a temporary ceasefire in the region.
“Negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today’s call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” the statement on X read.
President Donald Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly called Israeli officials and Netanyahu, asking the country to “calm down” on the strikes, according to Axios. Israeli officials said, while there is “no ceasefire in Lebanon,” direct negotiations would take place at the State Department in Washington, D.C., next week, the outlet reported.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reportedly told state media that the country sought a cease-fire between the two countries following months of attempting to engage in negotiations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Iranian officials claimed to have closed off the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to pull out of any ceasefire negotiations with the U.S. if Israel did not stop violating the ceasefire agreement. The county alleged that an unidentified drone entered into its airspace and that the country had been denied a “right to enrichment” of its uranium.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped organize the temporary two-week ceasefire, urged both sides to respect the ceasefire agreement.
“I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict,” Sharif wrote in a Wednesday X post.
The tentative ceasefire came after Trump warned on Monday that a “whole civilization will die” if the Hormuz was not reopened and a deal was not struck by 8 p.m. the following day.
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