Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced that Jerusalem intends to hold direct negotiations with Lebanese interlocutors with a view to disarming Iran’s terror proxy Hezbollah.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed at the [Cabinet] meeting yesterday to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establish[ment] of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the call made today by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” he added.
Hezbollah began firing rockets and suicide drones at Israel on March 2, after the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening strikes of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury” on Feb. 28.
In response to Hezbollah’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against the Iranian proxy and ordered IDF troops to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.
Israeli and U.S. officials have said the ceasefire with Iran, which paused 40 days of war, does not apply to Israel Defense Forces operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday carried out its largest coordinated strikes against Hezbollah terror assets since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion,” targeting headquarters, military infrastructure and command-and-control centers in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and Southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu said Hezbollah had suffered “the greatest blow since the pagers,” in reference to the Sept. 17-18, 2024, attacks in Lebanon, which wounded thousands of terrorists. “We attacked 100 targets in 10 minutes, in places Hezbollah was certain were immune,” he stated.
