Lebanon, Israel to hold new talks in Washington May 14-15: US
Rescuers work at the site of an Israeli strike that took place yesterday, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, May 7, 2026. REUTERS
Lebanon and Israel will hold a new round of talks in Washington on May 14-15 aimed at seeking a peace deal, despite a new Israeli strike against Hezbollah, a United States official said on Thursday.
“There will be talks between Lebanon and Israel on Thursday and Friday next week in Washington,” a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no “immunity” for Israel’s enemies, a day after the Israeli military targeted a Hezbollah commander in its first strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since a ceasefire declared last month.
Israel said the attack killed a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force. Hezbollah, which controls Beirut’s southern suburbs, has not issued a statement on the strike or the commander’s status.
לאף מחבל אין חסינות. כל מי שמאיים על מדינת ישראל - דמו בראשו. pic.twitter.com/EbhbjVuEdi
“He likely read in the press that he had immunity in Beirut. Well, he read it and it is no longer the case,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reignited on March 2 when the group opened fire at Israel after Tehran came under US-Israeli attack.
Wednesday’s strike increases pressure on the Lebanon ceasefire that emerged alongside a broader Middle East truce, with a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon a key Iranian demand in negotiations with Washington.
Announced on April 16 by US President Donald Trump, the Lebanon ceasefire reduced hostilities, and the Beirut area had avoided Israeli strikes for weeks before Wednesday’s attack.
Read More: Gaza health officials say Israeli strikes kill six
However, the sides have continued exchanging fire in southern Lebanon, where Israel has established what it calls a security zone.
Netanyahu said the Hezbollah commander, identified by the Israeli military as Ahmed Ali Balout, “thought he could continue to direct attacks against our forces and our communities from his secret terrorist headquarters in Beirut”.
“I say to our enemies in the clearest possible way: No terrorist has immunity,” he said.
Lebanese PM: Too early for ‘high-level’ meeting
More than 2,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Around 1.2 million people have been displaced, many fleeing southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health announced that the death toll from the expanded Israeli aggression has risen to more than 2,700 people killed and 8,311 wounded since March 2, 2026.https://t.co/Y0duOlWAao
Israel says 17 soldiers and two civilians have been killed since fighting resumed.
Lebanese health authorities said at least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in three separate areas of southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
Hezbollah said it carried out 17 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, while the Israeli military said it struck more than 15 infrastructure sites in the south the same day.
The Israeli military says Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel since March 2. Hezbollah says it has the right to resist Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon.
Israel’s security zone extends up to 10 kilometres into southern Lebanon. Israel says the buffer is intended to protect northern Israeli communities from Hezbollah fighters operating in civilian areas.
Also Read: Fresh Israeli strikes kill 3 in southern Lebanon in violation of 'ceasefire'
The ceasefire was initially announced for 10 days and later extended by three weeks following meetings involving Lebanese and Israeli representatives in Washington hosted by Trump.
Hezbollah strongly opposes Lebanese government contacts with Israel, reflecting deep divisions within Lebanon.
Trump said last month he hoped to host Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun soon and saw “a great chance” for a peace agreement this year.
But Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Wednesday it was premature to discuss any high-level meeting between Lebanon and Israel, adding that reinforcing the ceasefire must come before any further negotiations.
Israeli strike kills top Hamas official's son in Gaza
Separately, a Gaza hospital and Hamas said the son of the Palestinian movement's chief negotiator had died from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike a day earlier.
Azzam Khalil al-Hayya, 23, the son of top Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, "was martyred after succumbing to wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike targeting him yesterday", Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital said in a statement.
The city's Al-Ahli hospital and a security source said on Wednesday that a strike on the Al-Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City in the evening killed one person and wounded 10 others, including Azzam Khalil al-Hayya.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on the incident.
Azzam Khalil al-Hayya is the fourth of Khalil al-Hayya's seven sons to be killed in Israeli attacks, according to a Hamas source. Two of those were killed before the Gaza conflict erupted in October 2023.
The third, Hammam, was killed in an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha in September, which killed six people.
Khalil al-Hayya is the head of Hamas in Gaza despite living in exile in Qatar. He is currently vying for the leadership of the movement.