Israel and Lebanon expected to hold direct talks as war against Hezbollah rages, Haaretz reports

BEIRUT — Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold direct talks in the coming days, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported on Saturday, in what would be a diplomatic milestone between the two states as Israel and Hezbollah are currently engaged in a renewed escalation of war.

Three Lebanese officials said Beirut is forming a delegation for talks but no date has been set. One of the officials said Lebanon needed clarity on whether Israel would abide by President Joseph Aoun's first point — a demand for a full cease-fire to allow negotiations to take place.

There was no immediate comment on the Haaretz report from the Israeli government.

Lebanon officially joined the regional war on March 2 when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel and Israel responded with a large-scale offensive that has killed more than 800 people in Lebanon and forced nearly one million people into displacement.

Aoun has expressed the state's willingness for direct talks with Israel, seeking to secure an end to the war.

The Lebanese state's readiness for talks with Israel has come at a time of sharpening tensions within Lebanon over Hezbollah's status as an armed group. The Lebanese government last week announced a ban on Hezbollah's military activities. The group rejected the move and fought on, firing hundreds of rockets at Israel.

An Israeli official told Reuters on Friday that the campaign against Hezbollah would likely be intensified and continue even after strikes on Iran die down.

Haaretz report: Kushner to be involved in talks

Haaretz, citing two sources with knowledge on the matter, said the negotiations are expected to focus on ending fighting in Lebanon and disarming Hezbollah.

Haaretz reported that U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would be involved in the talks that may be held in Paris or in Cyprus, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant Ron Dermer leading the Israeli delegation.

The Lebanese official said Lebanon still needed clarity on the framework for the talks including the agenda.

Lebanon and Israel have formally been in a state of war since Israel's establishment in 1948.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group was ready for a long confrontation, and that any solution would require Israel to halt attacks, withdraw from Lebanese land, and release Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails.

A senior Lebanese politician said that Christian, Sunni Muslim, and Druze members of Lebanon's negotiating team had been chosen, but Hezbollah's ally, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, had rejected any participation from Shiite groups. The senior politician in question, familiar with Berri's view, said Berri believed Israel would have nothing to offer the Lebanese delegation.

Israel threatens to strike ambulances

The Israeli military threatened to strike ambulances and medical facilities, providing no evidence for its claim that such facilities were being used by members of Hezbollah. A Hezbollah official said that the group was not using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request to provide evidence that Hezbollah was using medical facilities or ambulances unlawfully.

Israel used a similar tactic in Gaza, paving the way for numerous strikes and attacks on hospitals and the mass killing of healthcare workers during its war on the Strip.

Israel has killed at least 26 medics and first responders in air strikes since March 2, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

On Friday, Israeli aircraft dropped flyers over Beirut threatening to inflict damage on Lebanon similar to the devastation wrought on Gaza during Israel's two-year war against the besieged enclave, reducing much of Gaza to rubble and forcibly displacing the majority of its population.

Civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, are protected sites under international law. Attacking hospitals and their use for military purposes are typically considered a breach of law, though they can lose their protected status under certain conditions.