More violence in Lebanon ahead of talks
After the cease-fire with Iran, the United States helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, including Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim movement that had fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for attacks on its protege.
Despite the announced ceasefire, Israeli strikes killed five more people on Wednesday, Lebanese media said.
Amal Khalil, a reporter for Al-Akhbar newspaper, was killed and her fellow reporter Zeinab Faraj was wounded in an Israeli attack near the border, the daily said.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a second French soldier wounded in a weekend ambush against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah had died.
A first soldier was shot dead in Saturday’s ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
Israel and Lebanon, which do not have diplomatic relations, will hold a second round of talks on Thursday in Washington.
Lebanon will ask for a one-month extension of the ceasefire during the meeting, a Lebanese official told AFP.
Lebanon will also demand “an end to Israel’s bombing and destruction in areas where it is present and a commitment to a ceasefire,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the talks.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 2,450 people since the start of the war, according to Lebanese authorities.
