Israel and Lebanon reportedly set to engage in direct talks, mediated by Jared Kushner, amid reports that the IDF is planning a major ground operation in southern Lebanon.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel and Lebanon are slated to enter into direct negotiations later this week, according to a report published by the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Saturday.
The report, which cited two sources with knowledge of the planned talks, said that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and confidant Jared Kushner will help mediate the negotiations, while Israel will be represented by former Strategic Affairs Minister and Netanyahu ally Ron Dermer.
The talks will likely be held either in Paris or in Cyprus, and will focus on ending the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, with the Iranian-backed organization obligated to disarm.
France has reportedly pushed for direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, calling for an immediate end to the fighting which has forced hundreds of thousands of residents of south Lebanon to flee their homes and move north of the Litani River.
Hezbollah is already required to disarm under the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), and under the November 2024 ceasefire agreement which secured the withdrawal of IDF forces from southern Lebanon.
However, the terror group has repeatedly defied calls by the US to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, and resisted efforts by the Lebanese military to disarm Hezbollah.
On March 2, Hezbollah terrorists attacked northern Israel with a barrage of rockets and suicide drones, effectively ending the November 2024 ceasefire and provoking Israeli retaliatory strikes.
The IDF has also carried out a limited ground incursion in several areas along the border.
According to Israeli and US officials cited by Axios, the IDF is preparing for a possible expansion of the ground campaign, should talks with Lebanon fail.
“We’re going to do what we did in Gaza,” one senior Israeli official was quoted as saying.
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