Lebanese and Israeli negotiators are set to hold a new round of talks in Washington on Tuesday amid uncertainty over a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump and conflicting signals over whether fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would actually come to an end.
Attention is focused on both the battlefield and the diplomatic track following Trump's announcement on Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks and withdraw forces that were reportedly heading towards Beirut .
The US president said he had reached the arrangement after a "productive" call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a "very good" conversation with Hezbollah through senior representatives.
However, it remained unclear whether the agreement amounted to a comprehensive ceasefire or was limited to preventing Israeli strikes on Beirut and halting Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.
Israeli attacks continued across southern Lebanon overnight, causing further casualties and destruction, while Hezbollah announced additional operations targeting Israeli forces and vehicles in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington said the proposed arrangement would see Israel halt attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from launching attacks against Israel, before eventually expanding the ceasefire to cover all Lebanese territory.
The embassy added that talks scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday would continue in Washington to discuss the reported breakthrough and build on it. Talks in Washington resume Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are due to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the US State Department, marking the fifth round of talks between the two sides since April.
During the third round of talks last month, the sides agreed to separate the negotiations into political and security tracks. The security track met for the first time last week, while this week's discussions are expected to focus on political issues.
A Lebanese diplomatic official told the Associated Press that Beirut remained committed to the talks despite the latest tensions. Lebanon , whose government has pledged to bring all weapons under state control, has demanded an end to Israeli attacks and a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Israel, meanwhile, accuses Beirut of failing to disarm Hezbollah and insists that the group give up its weapons. Hezbollah has rejected direct negotiations with Israel. Continued attacks Despite the planned talks and the announced truce, hostilities appeared to continue on Tuesday morning.
Air raid sirens sounded in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona and nearby border communities after reports of a suspected drone from southern Lebanon, with the Israeli military later saying the incident ended without injuries.
The negotiations come after intense diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Lebanon and several regional states to prevent a major Israeli intensification of violence, particularly after Israel threatened attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday, prompting residents to flee the area.
Before Trump's announcement, a US State Department spokesperson told The New Arab that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu as part of ongoing mediation efforts.
According to the spokesperson, Washington proposed that Hezbollah halt attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from attacking Beirut.
The spokesperson said Aoun sought to advance the proposal, but criticised Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's response as "evasive and disappointing" after he insisted that Israel halt its attacks first.
The reported breakthrough came amid growing concerns that a major Israeli attack on Beirut could undermine ongoing US-Iran negotiations. Trump lashes out at 'crazy' Netanyahu Axios reported on Monday that Trump sharply rebuked Netanyahu during a phone call over Israel's invasion of Lebanon, with sources telling the outlet that the US president feared Israeli actions could derail diplomatic efforts with Tehran.
Iran reacted swiftly to Israeli threats against Beirut. The headquarters of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Command warned residents of northern Israel and military settlements to leave if Israel carried out its threat to strike the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned that any violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon would amount to a breach of ceasefire understandings across the region, adding that both the United States and Israel would bear responsibility for any consequences.
The developments followed a series of international and regional efforts, including interventions by Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, calling for an end to Israel's military campaign in Lebanon and opposing deeper Israeli ground incursions in the south.
Lebanese officials also held intensive contacts with Washington and Arab governments in an effort to prevent Israeli strikes on Beirut and contain the brewing conflict.
Official Lebanese sources told The New Arab that a combination of domestic, regional and international factors had helped achieve what they described as significant progress towards a comprehensive ceasefire.
The sources said Lebanon continued to support any US-Iran agreement and welcomed efforts to extend a ceasefire to Lebanon.
However, the sources stressed that negotiations concerning Lebanon remained separate and would continue to focus on securing a full ceasefire, ending Israeli attacks and destruction, securing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, facilitating the deployment of the Lebanese army and securing the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.
A Hezbollah parliamentary source told The New Arab that the group remained committed to its position that there could be no return to the situation that existed before 2 March, when the current round of fighting resumed. During the November 2024 ceasefire, Israeli attacks had continued, killing more than 300 people in Lebanon, including women and children.
The source argued that Hezbollah had respected the November 2024 ceasefire agreement until that date and said attention should now focus on whether Israel would commit to a comprehensive cessation of attacks and withdraw from Lebanese territory.
The source added that Hezbollah had been kept informed of diplomatic contacts through Berri and continued to insist that any agreement must involve full Israeli compliance with a ceasefire rather than a partial arrangement.