Ceasefire not included: Lebanon begins historic 'exploratory' talks with Israel

The United States hosted the first direct talks in over three decades between Lebanon and Israel in Washington to address regional conflict. A ceasefire was explicitly not on the agenda, with the US stating the goal was to permanently end Hezbollah's influence. The Lebanese delegation had limited leverage as Hezbollah, the primary military power in Lebanon, was not represented at the meeting. The talks were described as "exploratory" and involved the respective ambassadors, with the Israeli representative claiming a shared goal of liberating Lebanon from the Iran-backed group.