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Rome talks amid Hezbollah rift
Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the country’s south even as Hezbollah denounced the negotiations as a “humiliation” for Beirut.
“Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday”
Convoys carrying delegations from the two countries arrived at the US embassy in the Italian capital, where discussions were scheduled to run until Thursday, and the Israeli delegation included officials from the Israel Defense Forces, The Times of Israel learned.
The talks follow a June framework deal in Washington that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon’s south, and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region starting in test areas known as “pilot zones.”
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the direct negotiations would bring Lebanon “nothing but shame, humiliation, and successive compromises,” while Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam fired back that Hezbollah had dragged the country into war.
The Times of Israel said Israel responded to Hezbollah’s March rocket fire with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.
Salam and Qassem trade threats
In a televised address, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem accused Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun of being “biased and divisive,” saying that role was “incompatible with his role and with Lebanon’s strength.”
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam replied on X that “the greatest support for Israel was provided by the one who distinguished himself by dragging Lebanon into futile war adventures,” and he said that gave Israel pretexts to “trample its sovereignty” and “destroy its cities and villages.”
The France 24 report said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told X that the United States remains committed to supporting both governments as they carry the process forward to “restore Lebanese state authority throughout the south.”
France 24 also reported that the US State Department official told AFP the discussions would “include expanding the pilot zone process, resolving all outstanding border issues, and working on a comprehensive peace and security agreement.”
Pilot zones and state authority
The talks in Rome are framed around pilot zones, after Israel’s military withdrew from the first pilot zone last month and handed control of the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh to the Lebanese army.
“the Lebanese army’s deployment is a major test”
France 24 said the Lebanese army’s deployment is a major test, with experts expressing doubt over authorities’ ability to disarm Hezbollah, which opposes the Israel deal and refuses to surrender its weapons, and to prevent further non-state military activity.
The Times of Israel reported that shortly before Tuesday’s talks began, the Lebanese army released photos of weapons it intercepted along the Syrian border and said it seized 122mm Grad rockets smuggled from Syria.
The Jerusalem Post said US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott posted that the negotiations will continue through August 6, and he described the discussions as advancing full implementation of the Trilateral Framework including “verified disarmament of Hezbollah.”
The Jerusalem Post also said the IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade ended an eight-month mission in southern Lebanon, destroying over 1,200 Hezbollah structures and killing more than 60 Hezbollah terrorists.