Military talks in Washington, airstrikes in Lebanon: Israel opens two fronts

Sharing a statement later in the day, the Pentagon said the talks were “productive”. However, the US did not highlight any accomplishments or achievements. It said the talks “focused on building practical frameworks for regional security and stability”.

Hezbollah, Israel’s primary target in the war, did not participate once again in the discussions.

Lebanon’s demands

A senior Lebanese military official told The Associated Press ahead of the talks at the Pentagon that the Lebanese delegation would aim to make the ceasefire, that came into effect between Israel and Lebanon on April 17 this year, comprehensive.

The official also said its delegation will request the reactivation of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a previous US-brokered ceasefire that halted the war between Israel and Hezbollah in late 2024.

Another Lebanese official iterated that the delegation would seek a comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire and a halt on ongoing hostilities, AP quoted.

A woman gestures near the rubble of her home destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in the southern village of Maarakeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo)

He said such an implementation would be followed by talks at a later date on matters such as deploying the Lebanese army along the border and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, according to the AP report.

US dials Lebanon President

Lebanon President Joseph Aoun’s office received a call on Friday from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the situation in Lebanon and the recent developments in the Middle East.

Aoun’s office told AP the president shared with Rubio that efforts should concentrate on implementing the ceasefire as it is “the essential entry point for transitioning to any other issues.”

Ceasefire violations

The Israeli military Friday issued several evacuation warnings for southern Lebanon, forcing hundreds of families to flee to safer areas further north, news agency AP reported.

Israeli troops fought Hezbollah fighters inside the villages of Yohmor and Zawtar al-Sahrqieh near the city of Nabatieh after they crossed the strategic Litani River, which the Israeli military has come to use as a de facto boundary, the report added.

Large areas to the south are now under Israeli military control, despite the ceasefire introduced in April.

Rescue workers search for victims inside a destroyed apartment that was damaged by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo)

Netanyahu visits Israel’s northern front

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday visited the northern front where he spoke with the members of the military, AP report stated.

“I must tell you that there are very impressive results here. Our forces have crossed the Litani; they have advanced to controlling positions,” he said.

“We are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa, across the entire width of the front, and we are dealing Hezbollah a crushing blow,” Netanyahu told them referring to Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs where Israel’s air force struck a day earlier.

Even as the tentative agreement between US and Iran negotiators remain unapproved by US President Donald Trump, Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said Friday that any deal would stop Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, AP quoted.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war has left 3,200 people dead in Lebanon and over 1 million people displaced, the report stated.