Israel-Lebanon Talks Open in Washington as Hezbollah Claims IDF Fire Near Nabatiya

The fifth round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon opened on Tuesday in Washington, with talks centered on creating “pilot areas” where Israeli forces would withdraw so the Lebanese army could prove its ability to disarm Hezbollah.

Just before the talks began, Hezbollah claimed that the IDF “violated” the ceasefire by opening fire with “automatic weapons toward a group of civilians” near Nabatiya at approximately 11:30 a.m., saying two civilians were killed and two more were injured.

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Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said, “we are heading toward a train wreck... that train is in danger of derailing,” warning that a potential increase in funding flows to Iran under the Memorandum of Understanding could give Hezbollah “a new lease on life.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said his government would “accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon,” describing the goal as restoring Lebanon’s full sovereignty over every inch of soil and extending the state’s authority over all its land.

In parallel, the IDF confirmed a strike on an armed Hezbollah cell operating near soldiers in the Ali Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon, and Lebanese media reported negotiators were discussing returning the remains of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad in exchange for Lebanese prisoners.

The Israeli army announced the killing of six Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon, alleging they posed a threat to Israeli forces operating inside what it described as the security zone.

In response, Hezbollah had not issued any comment regarding the statement or the toll reported by the Israeli army, while an Israeli joint statement after a security meeting said Israeli forces will continue operations in southern Lebanon to neutralize threats to soldiers and Israeli civilians and to target and destroy infrastructure belonging to armed groups.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the forces operating in southern Lebanon enjoy “full freedom to move against any direct or potential threat,” and warned that Israel would not permit threats to its citizens or attacks from Hezbollah or infiltration attempts.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel will not withdraw from the security zone it established inside Lebanese territory, extending about six miles north of the border, and stressed that Israel will adhere to the ceasefire “as long as the other side does not breach it.”

Separately, the Times of Israel reported that an Israeli soldier was killed and six others wounded on Sunday morning during a drone attack carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, identifying the deceased as Sergeant Idan Fooks, 19, of the 77th Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade.

A ceasefire extension announced on Thursday evening by Donald Trump after discussions between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Washington was described as increasingly precarious, with Le HuffPost quoting Netanyahu saying, “it seems obvious to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage it.”

Hezbollah, through deputy Ali Fayad, said the extension made “no sense” in light of Israel’s persistent “acts of hostility,” and called on the Lebanese state to withdraw from direct negotiations with Israel.

The same reporting said the conflict has already claimed more than 2,400 lives and displaced about a million people in Lebanon since early March, and it noted that UNIFIL announced on Friday the death of one of its Indonesian Blue Helmets injured on March 29 in the south.

In the immediate military picture, Ici Beyrouth reported that the Israeli army said its soldiers killed six Hezbollah fighters in the village of Bint Jbeil, describing an exchange of intense fire in which soldiers eliminated two terrorists before striking the structure and eliminating the four remaining terrorists.

Al-Jazeera Net reported that Hezbollah described an Israeli announcement of killing six people in the eastern town of Zuotr and the Ali al-Tahir heights as a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement, while Netanyahu said he issued instructions to grant the army “freedom to operate in Lebanon” to thwart threats targeting Israel or its northern towns.