Netanyahu tells cabinet to start direct talks with Lebanon

[Twiglets1]

Reported in the BBC today that Benjamin Netanyahu says he's told his cabinet to start direct talks with Lebanon "as soon as possible".

In a statement posted on X in Hebrew, it says he requested this to his cabinet yesterday, in light of "repeated calls" from Lebanon to open direct negotiations.

He adds that the talks will focus on the "disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon".

Still lots of Israeli strikes occurring in Lebanon based on this website:

Monitor the Situation — Live Conflict Map & Breaking News Tracker

Yes the war is still ongoing - there is no ceasefire yet.

Lots of strikes from Hezbollah into Israel too.

In northern Israel, a man was wounded in the town of Tamra after Hezbollah launched about 30 rockets across the border, according to medics and the military.

Hezbollah said it had launched rockets at 10 locations in northern Israel.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87ww2z0z3zo

Despite a Lebanon official saying earlier that they were unaware of upcoming contact with Israel, cabinet security member Galia Gamliel says on Israeli Army radio that Netanyahu will speak to the Lebanese President today.

Trump has announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed a 10 day ceasefire.

He said he has instructed his staff to work with the two countries to "achieve a lasting peace".

In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel "have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5pm EST" (22.00 BST).

Senior* *Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group had been briefed on a possible short-term ceasefire to start on Thursday night by Iran’s ambassador to Beirut.

Fadlallah spoke to Reuters minutes before US president Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire would start at 5pm US eastern time.

When asked whether Hezbollah would abide by a possible truce, Fadlallah said everything depended on Israel halting all forms of hostilities.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/16/middle-east-crisis-live-iran-war-news-us-trump-ceasefire-deal-lebanon-israel-oil-sanctions-latest-updates

BBC reports this morning that Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade strikes over the Lebanese border in the hours before the deal came into force at midnight local time.

Israel says its troops will remain in a 10km-deep (6.2 mile) "security zone" in southern Lebanon, and warns residents not to return to the area.

Israel and Lebanon's leaders have both welcomed the truce, with Netanyahu calling it an "opportunity to make a historic peace agreement".

The terms of the deal specify that the ceasefire is set to last 10 days, with the possibility of it being "extended by mutual agreement" if negotiations show signs of progress.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cqxdg17yr2wt

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared Friday that the newly brokered ceasefire marks the start of a "new phase" for Lebanon, vowing the country will move toward permanent agreements with Israel.

In a speech addressing the Lebanese people and hinting at the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group the day after US President Donald Trump announced the truce, Aoun said that his country was no longer "an arena for anyone's wars".

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict on 2 March when Tehran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel responded by firing waves of strikes on Lebanon and launching a ground offensive, killing nearly 2,300 people and displacing more than a million.

"Now, we all stand before a new phase," Aoun said in his first speech to the nation since the truce.

"It is the phase of transition from working on a ceasefire to working on permanent agreements that preserve the rights of our people, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation."

He said the Lebanese government had "reclaimed Lebanon and Lebanon's decision-making power for the first time" in nearly half a century.

"Today, we negotiate for ourselves... we are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor an arena for anyone's wars, and we never will be again," he said.

www.euronews.com/2026/04/18/lebanon-president-says-his-country-is-in-a-new-phase-after-israel-truce

From the same article:

The president thanked "all those who contributed to achieving the ceasefire", including Saudi Arabia and Trump, who announced the truce on Thursday.

The ceasefire came days after Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the US held a meeting in Washington, the first direct meeting between the two countries in decades, as they have technically been at war since 1948.

Negotiations with Israel is a divisive topic in Lebanon, with some seeing it as a way to end decades of recurring conflicts, while others including Hezbollah and its supporters reject it.

Direct talks with Israel were "not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation," Aoun added in his speech.

IDF says it struck primed Hezbollah rocket launcher in south Lebanon

The IDF says it struck a primed Hezbollah rocket launcher north of its “forward defense line” in southern Lebanon overnight.

The loaded launcher in the Qalaouiyah area “posed an immediate threat to IDF troops and Israeli citizens,” the military says.

The incident takes place during a ceasefire in Lebanon. The IDF says that during the truce it will “continue to take the necessary measures for self-defense against threats, while maintaining the security of Israeli civilians and the troops deployed on the ground.”

www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-it-struck-primed-hezbollah-rocket-launcher-in-south-lebanon/

Israelis now protesting against the killings in Palestine

Israelis are marching in Jerusalem tonight. Not Palestinians. Israelis. One protester: "Settlers attacked children and women in a Palestinian village. The IDF came and arrested the Palestinians that were attacked." "This is not democracy. This is not justice. This government is the root source of so many wrongs. We must make it stop." The opposition to Netanyahu isn't coming from outside Israel. It's coming from inside it. Never stop connecting the dots.

https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/2045630329801875778?s=20

Was that fake news???

Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

Will this be the next tactic as Israel seeks to extent its border in south Lebanon. With this in mind how are talks to go?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/21/israeli-soldiers-using-sexual-assault-to-force-palestinians-out-of-west-bank-report-says

The Settler violence - sexual and otherwise - is terrible @logicisall . There is a more appropriate thread to post about it on though, which is the one titled Should the international community sanction Israel over settler violence in West Bank?

With respect, this thread is about the Israel Lebanon peace talks. The latest development on this subject is that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon holds, and the peace talks are scheduled for Thursday, to be held in Washington.

Sorry, to confirm, you're policing the replies on this post?

And you're controlling the scope of what can be discussed on a thread that is open to everyone?

No I'm not policing it I'm just pointing out that "With respect, this thread is about the Israel Lebanon peace talks".

You had the choice to acknowledge the point I tried to make politely, ignore it or respond rudely.

My apologies if you thought my question was rude, it was not intended to be that way.
Thank you for pointing out the thread you think most appropriate for me. However, did you understand the point I was making and why it was relevant to post on this thread?

There are many other threads about Israel and Gaza. This one is about the Israel and Lebanon historic peace talks. I think Lebanon deserves its own thread and there are other more appropriate threads for disgraceful things happening in the West Bank with the Settlers @logicisall

I have seen some reports of Israelis protesting against the genocide that is going on and being dealt with harshly by the police. Lots of people supporting Palestine in different countries are also getting dealt with harshly- see elderly men and women being dragged off in the UK. It feels as if we are heading towards Facism.

Yes. The hypocrisy of the West is shocking.

Ahh, so you didn't understand the point of my post after all @Twiglets1 .

Here's a simple analysis for you and any others who don't see the relevance.
Governments do not exist in a vacuum. My post is whether what is happening in Israel regarding IDF actions against Palestines will have an effect on the scheduled peace negotiations with Lebanon in Washington. After all, that is what this thread is about, isn't it?

Relevants questions to ask given the recent news cycle would be:
Do these new domestic challenges in Israel change the Israeli and Lebanese positions in any way?
In spite of condemning the actions of an Israeli soldier in knocking off the head of a statue of Christ in Lebanon, how much has the actual action damaged the Israeli gov't on the world stage?
Does Bibi care?
Does it make the Israeli gov't stronger or weaker in its negotiations with Lebanon?

in my opinion it doesn't make sense to silo Israel/Lebanon negotiations in the way @Twiglets1 prefers to do here. Any unbiased analysis must take a holistic approach in order to have any realistic expectations of the upcoming Israel/Lebanon peace talks.

Now it sounds like you are trying to police the thread @logicisall

Maybe we can agree it’s just opinions on MN.

I respectfully disagree with that assessment of my post.
How is that trying to police the thread when you said that it is about The Israeli/Lebanon peace talks?
Do you not believe that a discussion on the Israel/Lebanon peace talks should have a 360 view of the issues?