Lebanon truce threatened ahead of talks

Multiple attacks undermined a fledgling ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon ahead of negotiations between the two countries in Washington today.

Lebanon said Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah in the south of the country killed at least four people on Wednesday, with the Iran-backed group saying it had carried out drone attacks in response.

The 10-day truce is due to expire on Sunday, though hope remained that US-brokered peace talks today could lead to an extension.

Meanwhile Beirut, caught between its adversary Israel and a powerful armed domestic group in Hezbollah, risks being squeezed out, an expert argued. The actions of Israel and Hezbollah “are converging in undermining the Lebanese state,” a deputy director at the Carnegie Endowment’s Middle East Center said.