Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem on Tuesday called on Lebanon’s government to pull out of direct talks with Israel scheduled to begin Thursday in Washington, arguing that the negotiations amount to a concession and should be instead conducted indirectly. The appeal, made in a letter to Hezbollah officials, deepens internal divisions over the country’s diplomatic posture as cross-border hostilities continue despite a fragile ceasefire.
Kassem said direct negotiations benefit Israel and represent “concessions by Lebanese authorities.” He urged a return to indirect talks of the kind that produced a ceasefire in November 2024, mediated by a third party. He also declared that the dispute over Hezbollah’s weapons is an internal Lebanese matter and must not be part of the agenda with Israel. The Lebanese government has sought the disarmament of the militant group since the latest round of fighting erupted in early March, labeling all military activities by Hezbollah illegal.
The two-day talks in Washington, the first face-to-face effort to resolve the current conflict, were to address an end to hostilities and the future of relations between Lebanon and Israel, which have been officially at war since 1948. Lebanese authorities have set out five demands: a cessation of hostilities, full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, deployment of Lebanese troops south of the Litani River, release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, and the return of displaced people to their homes. Kassem said Hezbollah is ready to cooperate to help achieve those points.
Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on April 17, daily attacks have persisted. The latest war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. On Tuesday, Hezbollah launched several drones at northern Israel, according to the Israeli military. The military said it intercepted some drones before they crossed the border, but explosive devices from others detonated inside Israel near the frontier, causing no injuries.
Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told reporters that 380 people have been killed and 1,122 wounded since the ceasefire, pushing the total since the war began to 2,882 killed and 8,786 wounded.
Early Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes hit multiple locations in southern Lebanon and the village of Sohmor in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the state-run National News Agency reported. The agency said strikes on the village of Jibchit killed three people and wounded four. The Israeli military had earlier issued evacuation warnings to residents of Sohmor and four southern villages.
The National News Agency also reported that Israeli forces entered the southern village of Deir Mimas, on the Litani River, and destroyed a solar-powered water pumping station that supplies the village with fresh water. The pre-dawn blast caused widespread damage. The Israeli military released photographs of troops along the Litani River without specifying exact locations. Hezbollah said its fighters fired rockets at Israeli troops near the river in the village of Deir Seryan, without providing further details.
Hezbollah confirmed Tuesday that one of its military commanders, Ahmed Ghaleb Balout, was killed in an airstrike near Beirut last week. The group described Balout as a commander who spent much of his life on the battlefield. The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had killed Balout, identifying him as a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, along with two other militants. The May 6 strike on a southern suburb of Beirut was the first airstrike near the Lebanese capital since the ceasefire took effect.