Middle East crisis Israel-Hezbollah

Talks between Israel and Lebanon have begun in Washington

Talks between Israel and Lebanon have begun in the US capital Washington DC, reports Reuters.

– Not all the complexities will be resolved in the next six hours, but we can start to move forward and create a framework, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is hosting the meeting.

It is the first direct diplomatic talks between the countries in more than 30 years, according to the AP. Participating are Israel's ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and his Lebanese counterpart Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

Lebanon's president hopes the talks will be "the beginning of the end of the country's suffering," he says, according to AFP.

Israel's military IDF says it expects the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah to increase its attacks along the border between Israel and Lebanon ahead of the meeting. Hezbollah has previously urged the Lebanese government to cancel the meeting.

Lebanon and Israel to Meet for First Talks in Decades

Lebanon and Israel are set to meet today for the first direct diplomatic talks between the countries in over 30 years, several media outlets report.

The talks will take place in the US capital, Washington, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, respectively, will participate.

During the day, foreign ministers from 17 countries have urged Israel and Lebanon to "seize the opportunity." According to sources to CNN, Beirut expects the negotiations to be a "long, complicated process."

The Hezbollah militia group will not participate in the talks. Hezbollah leader Wafiq Safa has announced that the group will not adhere to any agreements reached during the talks.

Hezbollah says it has launched attacks on 13 cities in northern Israel shortly after talks began.

Sources: Lebanon's goal is ceasefire - Israel's peace deal

Lebanon will try to reach a ceasefire agreement as a condition for further negotiations with Israel during talks in Washington, a Lebanese source told CNN.

According to the source, the Lebanese side will present a framework for further talks, which will involve Israeli forces leaving Lebanese territory in exchange for the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah disarming.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel has two goals for the talks: to disarm Hezbollah and to conclude a historic peace deal with Lebanon.

However, according to Israeli sources to CNN, it could be difficult. Among other things, because Israel insists on continuing the attacks against Hezbollah, which are directed at Lebanese territory, and that negotiations must continue while the firefights continue.