Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country opened direct negotiations with Lebanon as Iran threatens to not hold negotiations on the war if attacks against Hezbollah in the country continue.
"In light of Lebanon's repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed yesterday to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible. The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the Lebanese prime minister's call today to demilitarize Beirut," Netanyahu said in a statement.
The development comes as Israel continued to escalate attacks in Lebanon. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that Ali Youssef Kharshi, secretary and nephew of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, was killed in Beirut.
Netanyahu added that, "at the same time, overnight, the IDF struck a series of terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon: crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launchers, and Hezbollah headquarters."
The war between Israel and Hezbollah is now at the forefront of the conflict in the Middle East, with Iran saying it will not engage in conversations in Pakistan on Friday if they continue.
The speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday the ceasefire with the U.S. has been violated in three different ways since its announcement and cast doubt on negotiations with Washington.
In a social media publication, Ghalibaf rejected remarks by Trump and U.S. officials, who said Iran's demands in private negotiations were different than those stated publicly.
He claimed that the 10 points outlined are indeed what it requires to end the war, and three of them have been violated.
The first one is an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon, something Ghalibaf said was included in the agreement announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Ghalibaf also said on Thursday that "ceasefire violations carry explicit costs and STRONG responses."
