Source: Africa Publicity
The leaders of Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to hold direct talks on Thursday after nearly 34 years.
US President Donald Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social.
According to him, “Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!.”
Trump’s announcement comes on the back of a rare direct meeting between the ambassadors of the two countries in Washington DC on Tuesday, to achieve a ceasefire amid an escalation in the conflict.
Lebanon was dragged into the region-wide Iran war on March 2, 2026 after Hezbollah attacked Israel.
Since then, Israeli strikes – including an extremely heavy attack on Beirut on April 8 – have killed over 2,000 people and displaced more than one million.
Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic relations and have technically been in a state of war since Israel’s founding in 1948.
Israel has a long history of military incursions and invasions in Lebanon, including an 18-year occupation in the south from 1982-2000.
More recently, Israel and Lebanon held US-brokered talks in 2022 that led to a bilateral agreement establishing a maritime boundary between the two countries.
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