Update: Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the nation later in the evening, stating that no ceasefire with Hezbollah is imminent and that military operations against the terrorist group in Lebanon will continue.
Israel has initiated peace talks with Lebanon, aimed at disarming the Iranian proxy terrorist group Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday afternoon.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed at the Government meeting yesterday to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” he said in a statement. “The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishing of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon.”
Ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had called for ‘direct talks’ with Israel, setting an immediate ceasefire as a precondition, the BBC reports:
Shortly before Netanyahu announced that he’d told his cabinet to start direct talks with Lebanon, we also heard from the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
In a statement posted on X, he said the “only solution” is a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, followed by “direct negotiations” between them.
Aoun also said his country’s security forces have been “carrying out their work fully to enforce security, despite the “difficult circumstances they are facing”.
In early March, Hezbollah entered the war on behalf of Iran, dragging Lebanon into the war. Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, declared that the pro-Iranian terror group was in “existential battle” against Israel.
On March 11, the terrorist group escalated the conflict by launching operation “Eaten Straw,” invoking Quranic verses referring to the supposed defeat of a Christian army at the hands of the Arabs in the 6th century. Throughout the conflict, Iran and Hezbollah have been conducting coordinated missile attacks, aimed at overwhelming air defense systems protecting Israeli population centers.
Later in the evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the nation,
The Israeli offer comes as Hezbollah continues to fire missiles and drones at its towns and cities.
The military is responding to the Lebanon-based terrorist group with “force, precision, and determination,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Thursday.
“We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with force, precision, and determination,” he wrote on X in Hebrew. “Our message is clear: anyone who acts against Israeli civilians – we will strike them. We will continue to hit Hezbollah wherever necessary until we fully restore security to the residents of the north [of Israel].”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was targeting Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure and leadership, eliminating Ali Yusuf Harshi, the right-hand man to Hezbollah chief Qassem, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced.
“Harshi was a close associate and personal advisor to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and played a central role in managing and securing his office,” the IDF said in a statement earlier.
Ynetnews reported Netanyahu’s remarks:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is continuing to strike Hezbollah “with force, precision and determination,” saying an overnight operation in Beirut killed a close aide to the group’s leader and that the military also struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.“In Beirut, we eliminated Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and one of the people closest to him,” Netanyahu said.He said the IDF also struck a series of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon overnight, including crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launch sites and command centers.“Our message is clear: Whoever acts against Israeli civilians will be hit,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue striking Hezbollah wherever required until we restore full security to the residents of the north.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu backed President Donald Trump’s decision to halt strikes against Iran for two weeks, given that the regime agrees to the terms set by Washington. “Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region,” the Israeli Prime Minister said on Wednesday. He added that the “two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon.”
The Israeli military also eliminated a commander of Hezbollah-linked Lebanese Resistance Brigades.
On Wednesday, “the IDF, acting on intelligence, struck and eliminated Maher Qassem Hamdan, the Commander of the Lebanese Resistance Brigades terrorist organization in the Chebaa area in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military revealed. “Hamdan was responsible for terrorist recruitment, weapons supply, and funding the Lebanese Resistance Brigades in Chebaa.”
The terrorist outfit is “funded by the Hezbollah terror organization and is connected to it directly” and takes part in “executing terror activities against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the military noted.
Besides precision strikes aimed at eliminating Hezbollah’s leadership, Israeli troops were advancing in southern Lebanon. The IDF’s 162nd armoured division, also known as the “steel formation,” was engaging the enemy deep inside the hostile territory.
“Troops of the 162nd Division are continuing targeted ground operations in southern Lebanon,” the IDF announced on Thursday. “As part of the activity, troops from the 401st Brigade located a shaft leading to underground infrastructure from which a terrorist emerged and was eliminated in close-quarters combat.”
With this forward deployment of troops, the IDF wants to create a security zone in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. This would deny Hezbollah strategic heights for firing mortars and anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops and civilians in northern Israel.
“Overnight, the IDF struck two key crossings used by Hezbollah terrorists and commanders for movement from north to south of the Litani River in Lebanon to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers,” the military disclosed. “Furthermore, approximately 10 weapons storage facilities, launchers, and command centers used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon were struck.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY