Israel, Lebanon to hold 2nd ambassador-level talks in US amid fragile ceasefire

WASHINGTON - Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold their second ambassador-level talks at the US State Department in Washington, DC, US media reported Tuesday.

Israel and Lebanon will again be represented by their ambassadors to the United States, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, respectively.

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday, following weeks of intensified cross-border fighting amid the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The truce has remained fragile as tensions along Lebanon's southern border continue. Lebanon's official National News Agency reported that Israeli forces escalated operations across southern Lebanon at dawn on Tuesday, carrying out widespread demolitions, stepping up aerial surveillance, and issuing evacuation warnings despite the ceasefire.

Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic relations, and Hezbollah has long been viewed by Israel as a "proxy" of Iran. The negotiating party with Israel is the Lebanese government, not Hezbollah.