Israel-Lebanon talks kick off in Rome despite fierce Hezbollah opposition

Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday, with Beirut seeking Israel's phased withdrawal from the country's south, even as the Hezbollah terror group denounced the negotiations as a "humiliation" for Beirut.

Convoys carrying delegations from the two countries arrived at the US embassy in the Italian capital in the morning, where discussions were scheduled to run until Thursday. The Israeli delegation included officials from the Israel Defense Forces, The Times of Israel learned.

At negotiations in Washington in June, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as "pilot zones."

This week's negotiations mark the seventh round of Washington-mediated talks since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people. The Lebanese figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Tuesday slammed the talks and said that the direct negotiations would bring Lebanon "nothing but shame, humiliation, and successive compromises."

In a televised address, he also criticized Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, saying he "has not acted as an arbiter, nor as a unifying figure, but has become biased and divisive, which is incompatible with his role and with Lebanon's strength."

Hours later, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam fired back, saying Hezbollah had dragged the country into war.

Without mentioning the Iran-backed terror group by name, Salam wrote on X that "the greatest support for Israel was provided by the one who distinguished himself by dragging Lebanon into futile war adventures, giving it pretexts to commit aggressions against our country, trample its sovereignty, destroy its cities and villages, kill its sons, and displace them by the hundreds of thousands."

He said that the ones who "tie Lebanon to external calculations and axes... have no right to hand out certificates in patriotism, let alone in sovereignty."

Salam called for "a state with one army that extends its authority over all its territories solely by its own forces."

Israel's aim in this round of talks with Lebanon was to "continue the positive momentum by establishing working groups on six issues," an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

The working groups would be tasked with addressing maritime and land borders; evaluating the pilot zones where the Lebanese army has replaced the IDF; disarming Hezbollah; stopping the flow of Iranian money into Lebanon; and stepping up reconstruction efforts in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Salam told a cabinet meeting on Monday that Lebanon was pursuing "efforts towards successive Israeli withdrawals from Lebanese territory, leading to a full withdrawal."

On Monday, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa warned that "moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect."

"It is better to take the time needed to get this right the first time. Doing so will allow subsequent pilot zones to move forward more efficiently," Issa said.

"Both sides must agree on a clear, workable process before proceeding."

The IDF withdrew from the first pilot zone last month, handing control of the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh to the Lebanese army.

Observers say Israel's commitment to withdraw will also be tested when pilot zones are selected in areas fully under its occupation.

Violence in Lebanon has decreased since the Lebanon-Israel deal and the signing in June of a preliminary US-Iran agreement on the Middle East conflict.

But Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and shelling, as well as detonations and demolitions in southern villages.