Khaberni - On Thursday, in Washington, a second round of talks between Lebanon and Israel will take place under American sponsorship, during which Beirut intends to request an extension of the ceasefire that has been in effect since April 17 for an additional month.
Israel called on Lebanon on Wednesday to "cooperate" with it in confronting Hezbollah, which rejects these talks, asserting that there are no "serious disagreements" with Lebanon.
The latest war between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on March 2, following the launch of rockets by the group at Israel in response to the killing of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the American-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
The two parties, which have been officially at war since 1948, held a round of talks in Washington on April 14, the first of its kind since 1993, in an attempt to end the war.
Two days after these talks, the United States announced a 10-day truce in the war that resulted in over 2400 deaths in Lebanon and displaced more than a million people.
The participants in Thursday's talks, like the previous round, include American Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yehiel Litter, Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Nada Hammada Mawad, and the presence of the American Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa.
This time, the American Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will also join, according to what an official in the American State Department told Agence France-Presse.
This session comes while Hezbollah and Israel exchange accusations of violating the truce.
Israel conducts airstrikes claiming to target Hezbollah elements preparing for "terrorist attacks" against it, regularly causing casualties.
It continues to perform bombing and demolition operations in border villages and prevents residents of dozens of villages from returning to them.
In response, Hezbollah announces operations against the Israeli army inside Lebanese territory and targets northern Israel in retaliation for what it considers a violation of the ceasefire.
According to the text of the ceasefire agreement published by the American State Department last week, Israel retains the "right of self-defense" in the face of operations being carried out or planned against it.
A Lebanese official source stated on Wednesday, without revealing their identity, that "Lebanon will request an extension of the truce" which ends this weekend, "for a month, and for Israel to stop bombing and destruction operations in areas where its army is present and to adhere to the ceasefire."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced on Wednesday that "communications are ongoing to extend the ceasefire period."
He added, according to a statement from the presidency, "the negotiations that are being prepared are based on stopping the Israeli aggressions altogether and achieving the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories."
The two sides agreed during the first meeting to launch direct negotiations "at a place and time to be agreed upon," according to what the spokesperson of the American State Department, Tommy Bigot, said at the time.
Lebanon appointed the former ambassador to Washington, Simon Karam, as the head of the negotiating delegation with Israel.
"Obstacle to Peace"
In Israel, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Lebanon on Wednesday to cooperate and make joint efforts to confront Hezbollah.
He said in a speech in front of diplomats, during an event on the seventy-eighth anniversary of "Israel's independence": "Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume on Thursday in Washington, and I invite the Lebanese government to cooperate."
He added "this cooperation is required more from your side than from ours. It requires moral clarity and courage to take risks. But there is no real alternative to ensure a future of peace for you and for us."
Saar affirmed that there are no "serious disagreements" for Israel with Lebanon, considering that "the obstacle to peace and normalization is one, Hezbollah."
Four people were killed Wednesday by Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, according to the official national media agency.
Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed on Wednesday by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon after she and another Lebanese journalist, Zeinab Faraj, were wounded by the strike.
