A third round of talks between Israel and Lebanon scheduled for May 14–15 in Washington

Israel and Lebanon are set to hold a third round of talks in Washington next week aimed at reaching a peace agreement, a U.S. official announced Thursday, despite an Israeli strike near Beirut the previous day amid a fragile cease-fire.

“There will be talks between Lebanon and Israel next Thursday and Friday in Washington,” a U.S. State Department official said on condition of anonymity.

The two countries, which do not maintain diplomatic relations, already held two rounds of discussions in Washington on April 14 and 23.

Following the second meeting at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension of the cease-fire between the two countries. He also said he expected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to meet “in the coming weeks.”

However, President Aoun said Monday that a security agreement with Israel and an end to “Israeli aggressions” must precede any meeting between the two leaders. Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the war on March 2 in support of its Iranian ally, has rejected the diplomatic talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that there was “no problem between the Lebanese and Israeli governments,” arguing that Hezbollah remained the main obstacle. “ I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is imminently achievable, and should be,” Rubio added.

The first meeting between the two countries, held at ambassadorial level in Washington on April 14, was the first of its kind since 1993.

Despite the cease-fire that came into effect three days later, fighting has continued in Lebanon. On Wednesday evening, an Israeli strike targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in nearly a month, killing the head of Hezbollah’s elite unit, according to Israel and a source close to the group, though Hezbollah itself has not confirmed the claim.

Israeli warplanes also struck several towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday morning.

Hezbollah, for its part, has claimed attacks against Israeli forces occupying areas of southern Lebanon.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people, wounded over 8,200 and displaced around one million since early March.