The Dictatorship
‘Crossed a Rubicon’: Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire by 45 days
Israel and Lebanon will extend their ceasefire by 45 days “to enable further progress” after two “highly-productive” days of peace talks held in Washington, a State Department spokesperson announced Friday.
“The two countries agreed upon a framework for negotiations to advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The United States will reconvene Israeli and Lebanese political leaders for a fourth round of negotiations June 2-3 and establish a separate security track at the Pentagon on May 29 for military delegations from both countries.
“To that end, the parties have agreed to a 45-day extension of the April 16 cessation of hostilities agreement to allow the security track to meaningfully improve the communication and coordination between Israel and Lebanon, facilitated by the United States,” Pigott said.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter described this week’s discussions as “frank and constructive” and said he looks forward to the next steps.
“There will be ups and downs, but the potential for success is great,” Leiter wrote on X following the latest talks. “What will be paramount throughout negotiations is the security of our citizens and our soldiers.”
The third ambassador-level meeting between the countries, following earlier discussions in Washington on April 14 and April 23, took place at a critical time as the precarious ceasefire was set to expire Sunday.
During the cessation of hostilities, both the Israeli military and the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah have made accusations of ceasefire violations, with the Israeli military announcing its own attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
At least 657 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to the country’s health ministry.
Notably, Hezbollah is not a participant in the U.S.-led talks.
“The time has come to treat Lebanon as a sovereign state and to finally empower it to act like one, rather than letting an Iran-backed terrorist organization have a veto on its future or block peace,” a State Department official previously told MS NOW.
The momentum of the Israel-Lebanon peace negotiations stands in stark contrast to the stalled U.S.-Iran talks led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushnerwhere the Iranian regime’s support for terrorist proxy organizations, including Hezbollah, has been one of many points of contention.
A source familiar with the talks, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations, told MS NOW that all eyes are on Lebanon as Israel and the U.S. await more concrete actions from the Lebanese government to rid its country of Hezbollah’s power and influence.
That Lebanon sent Simon Karam, a powerful Lebanese diplomat appointed by President Joseph Aoun, is a sign of how seriously the country is taking its responsibility in these talks — but it still faces headwinds.
“These two states have crossed a Rubicon,” the source familiar with the talks told MS NOW, noting that an extension of the ceasefire will be critical in allowing Lebanon more time to take concrete actions needed to confront and disarm Hezbollah and address domestic concerns.
“The bottom line: Both parties are still engaged, both parties still see a reason to be engaged, both parties still agree on the same goals of disarming Hezbollah — but they’re not able to talk about how they get to the same goal,” the source told MS NOW. “The ball is in Lebanon’s court.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.