Israelistrikes kill 12 in Lebanon

BEIRUT:

Israeli airstrikes on cars in Lebanon on Wednesday killed 12 people, including two children, Lebanon's health ministry said, a day before the talks between veterans politicians from the two countries in Washington.

security sources told Reuters that some of the Israeli strikes targeted vehicles well beyond the main theatre of conflict in ?the south, on the coastal highway south of Beirut. The strikes came as Lebanon's Simon Karam and Israel's Yechiel Leiter will come face to face in Washington for talks on Thursday.

Lebanon and Israel have no formal ties, but US President Donald Trump is hoping for a historic breakthrough even as Israeli forces remain deployed in south Lebanon to fight Hezbollah.

While Lebanon is seeking to consolidate a ceasefire in the latest war and to obtain the withdrawal of Israeli troops, Israel wants to ensure Hezbollah is disarmed.

Beirut insists Israel must end its attacks before starting negotiations, while Hezbollah rejects outright any direct engagement between the two countries.