The first in-person meeting in the expected negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Tuesday in Washington, a US official familiar with the details told The Times of Israel on Friday, following reported pressure on Jerusalem from the Trump administration to start peace talks and scale back strikes against Hezbollah.

The talks, which will be hosted at the US State Department, come amid reports of alarm from the White House over the scale of Israel’s massive wave of strikes in Lebanon following the ceasefire announcement between the US and Iran on Wednesday.

Ahead of next week’s meeting, Washington and Beirut are pushing Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon as a demonstration of Jerusalem’s seriousness about reaching an agreement, according to a Friday report, though Israel has insisted that talks take place under fire.

Lebanese ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, Israeli ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and US ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa – respectively leading the Lebanese, Israeli and US delegations – will be in attendance.

A preparatory phone meeting between the three officials, as well as State Department counselor Mike Needham, was set to take place later Friday, the official added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately confirm the meeting, though the premier said a day earlier that Israel would begin negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible,” aimed at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a full peace agreement between the countries.

According to Channel 12, the US is continuing its pressure on Israel to agree to a truce ahead of the negotiations, arguing that the ceasefire would be framed as an achievement by the Lebanese government, as opposed to a win for Iran, which has been demanding its truce with the US cover Lebanon, to no avail.

Israel hasn’t yet made a decision on the matter, but there are some senior officials in Jerusalem arguing in favor of agreeing to a ceasefire, as it would merely return the sides to the terms of the previous truce from November 2024, under which the IDF is allowed to carry out attacks against Hezbollah threats deemed imminent.

Such strikes have taken place in southern Lebanon over the past year and a half on a very regular basis.

For its part, Hezbollah urged Beirut to stand firm, with terror group chief Naim Qassem telling the Lebanese government to stop giving “free concessions” to Israel.

“We will not accept a return to the previous situation, and we call on officials to stop offering free concessions,” Qassem said in a written message broadcast on the party’s Al-Manar TV, in which he also denounced the “bloody criminality on Wednesday,” referring to........

© The Times of Israel