Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire and hold new talks on a political settlement, the United States announced Friday, even as Israel carried out new strikes that it insists are not subject to the truce.
Israel has been pounding Lebanon and invaded its south in response to fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia movement that is not part of the ceasefire diplomacy.
Envoys from Israel and Lebanon’s government, which has struggled to restrain Hezbollah, met for two days in Washington and said they would extend the ceasefire that was set to expire Sunday.
The cessation of hostilities “will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
He said that the State Department would hold negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent political agreement on June 2 and 3 and that the Pentagon would bring together delegations from the countries’ militaries on May 29.
The United States steadfastly backs Israel, with which it attacked Iran on February 28, but has also gently voiced unease about Israeli troops’ control of southern Lebanon.
“We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border,” Pigott said.
Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, who led his country’s delegation, said after the talks that it would be critical to ensure Israel’s security.
“There will be ups and downs, but the potential for success is great,” Leiter wrote on X.
Iran’s clerical state, Hezbollah’s patron, has demanded a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon before any peace agreement with US President Donald Trump, who has been frustrated by Tehran’s refusal to an accord on his terms.
Hundreds of people have died in Israeli strikes despite the truce announced on April 17.
Even as talks were wrapping up in Washington, Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for the southern city of Tyre, where it said it was hitting Hezbollah infrastructure.
An AFP correspondent reported a series of strikes, two of them near Tyre, while state media said another targeted a center run by a local NGO near a hospital.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the strikes on the Tyre district wounded at least 37 people, including six hospital personnel, nine women and four children.
Hafez Ramadan, a resident near the building targeted by the airstrike, said it had housed people who had fled their towns due to the war, and was adjacent to a hotel where more displaced people were staying.
“There are only women, children and the elderly here,” he said. “Because of this strike, people have been displaced again.”
