New round of Israel-Lebanon talks underway in U.S. amid ongoing clashes

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

A new round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon is underway at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continue.

The meeting lasted all day on Tuesday and is set to continue on Wednesday, said a CNN report, citing an Israeli official.

U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Mike Needham and State Department counselor Dan Holler reportedly led the talks on the U.S. side on Tuesday.

"We are trying to view the Lebanon-Israeli talks as separate and distinct from Iran, and what Iran wants to do is mix it all together," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Senate hearing earlier on Tuesday.

Rubio also accused Iran of "trying to stymie any effort in which Israel and Lebanon can work together" and prolong their negotiations.

A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday that the group will not accept any partial ceasefire with Israel, refusing a reported U.S.-backed proposal demanding that Hezbollah halt attacks against northern Israel in exchange for Israel sparing Beirut's southern suburbs.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he had secured commitments from Israel and Hezbollah to ease tensions, while the Lebanese presidency said Hezbollah had accepted a U.S. proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks.

Israel and Hezbollah continued trading attacks overnight into Tuesday. Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center said Tuesday that Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed 3,468 people and injured 10,577 others.