The 15th closed-door meeting since the truce was signed in November 2024 took place in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura on Friday for civil and military delegations from Israel and Lebanon.
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Military participants at the US embassy in Beirut acknowledged the need to strengthen the Lebanese army as a guarantor of security south of the Litani River and offered “operational updates.”
The embassy said in a statement that “civilian participants were also focused on improving conditions for residents’ return to their homes, advancing reconstruction, and addressing economic priorities.”
They argued that sustaining long-term political and economic progress is necessary to bolster security gains and maintain lasting peace.
Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire with Hezbollah, carrying out nearly daily attacks across Lebanon, most notably in the south, in response to the talks.
A day before the Friday meetings, the Israeli military claimed in a statement that it was attacking the Lebanese organization’s military operatives and infrastructure.
According to Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, the talks were supposed to concentrate on ratifying what has largely been a one-sided truce, according to a report from Naqoura.
She continued, “At least that is what Lebanon wants.” More than 10 square kilometers of Lebanese territory are still being occupied along the border, or 4 square miles.
January meeting is when it will be next.
Following the discussions, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with diplomat Simon Karam, who has been appointed as the top civilian negotiator of Lebanon.
Aoun emphasized that “an entry point for addressing all other details” should be to allow tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians who have been displaced by Israel to return to their villages and homes in a statement from the Lebanese presidency.
Aoun stated that January 7 is the committee’s scheduled meeting date.
He also praised the US, France, and Saudi Arabia’s decision to hold an international conference in Paris to support the Lebanese army and its internal security forces.
Yosef Dreznin, Israel’s deputy director for foreign policy, was a participant in the civil discussions.
The Israeli prime minister’s office described the meeting as a “continuation of the security dialogue aimed at ensuring the Lebanese army’s disarmament.”
In a statement, it stated that ways to promote economic projects were discussed during the meeting to draw attention to the shared desire to end the Hezbollah threat and provide residents with sustainable security on both sides of the border.
Hezbollah, for its part, has rejected the idea of laying down its weapons while Israel continues to regularly attack Lebanon and occupy its territory.
After his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah and the majority of the group’s military and political leadership were assassinated by Israel, Naim Qassem, who now heads Hezbollah’s secretary-general, has accused the Lebanese government of offering concessions without receiving anything in return.
The talks are still being confined to the present, according to Paul Salem, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, but could broaden into more expansive topics, including a full cessation of hostilities.
Source: Aljazeera
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