Israel Kills Seven In Lebanon As US Brokers 45-Day Ceasefire Extension

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire that was due to expire on Sunday by 45 days, the US said after direct talks in Washington DC concluded despite ongoing Israeli attacks and ceasefire violations in Lebanon.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, "The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress," and said political negotiations would continue on June 2 and June 3.

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The agreement came as Israel launched new attacks on Lebanon on Friday, killing at least seven people in the south, according to the Lebanese state news agency NNA.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said 2,951 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, when fighting between Israel and Hezbollah reignited, and the same Al Jazeera report said Israel had lost 20 troops including another soldier killed in fighting with Hezbollah on Friday.

Al Jazeera also said Lebanon sent Presidential Special Envoy Simon Karam while Israel’s Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin attended the talks in Washington.

The US said the ceasefire extension would be paired with a security track, with Pigott telling that "a security track" would begin on May 29 at the Pentagon involving Lebanese and Israeli military delegations.

Al-Monitor reported that the Pentagon would host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for separate security talks later this month, after the third round of talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

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Al-Monitor named the US delegation led by State Department Counselor Michael Needham, along with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, while Lebanon was represented by Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh and Simon Karam.

It also said Israel sent Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin and senior military representatives, and that Kan reported the two sides would discuss a security agreement addressing both the disarmament of Hezbollah and the demarcation of the border.

Al-Monitor added that Hezbollah has rejected negotiations with Israel and that the group’s position on any ceasefire-strengthening agreement would be examined based on "the reality on the ground," as quoted from a command source by Qatar’s Al-Araby channel.

Even as the ceasefire extension was announced, Israeli strikes and warnings continued, with Al Jazeera describing Friday drone attacks that killed Mohammed Ahmed Abu Zaid and Jamal Noureddine while they were collecting humanitarian aid in Nabatieh.

“Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire that was due to expire on Sunday by 45 days, the US said, after direct talks in Washington DC concluded, despite ongoing Israeli attacks and ceasefire violations in Lebanon”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera also reported that Israeli attacks in Tyre district injured 37 people on Friday, and that Israel issued forced evacuation orders for five villages in southern Lebanon.

The Nightly said the 45-day extension was agreed "despite new strikes" and framed the US-brokered truce as precarious while Israel and Lebanon planned to reconvene negotiations on June 2 and June 3.

In parallel, Al-Monitor said evacuation orders have affected roughly 15% of the country and that Lebanese authorities reported at least 588 people have been killed and 1,224 others injured in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect.

France 24 said Lebanon’s negotiating delegation welcomed the outcome, quoting a statement that "The extension of the ceasefire and the establishment of a US-facilitated security track provide critical breathing space for our citizens".