Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has announced talks between Israel and Lebanon, marking the first interaction between the two sides after almost three and a half decades. Taking to Truth Social, the US President said, "Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!"
While POTUS did not specify which leaders would be speaking, he appeared to be referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
High-level talks between leaders of Israel and Lebanon are extremely rare as the two countries have technically remained in a state of conflict since 1948 and do not maintain diplomatic ties.
The first acknowledged instance of top-level talks dates back to 1983 after the Lebanon War, when the United States brokered talks that led to a temporary truce.
Lebanon is likely to demand a ceasefire before agreeing to hold such high-level talks with Israel.
Around 2,167 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country entered the war on 2 March, including 260 women, 172 children and 91 medical personnel, according to the country’s health ministry. Over a dozen Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
Lebanon entered the war after the Iran-backed group launched attacks in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the initial salvo of the US-Israeli attacks.
