Israel and Lebanon hold first direct talks since 1993

Lebanon and Israel have held their first diplomatic talks in over three decades, a rare encounter aimed at ending fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who mediated, said it was a "historic opportunity" to end Hezbollah's influence.

A US statement said the two sides had agreed to launch direct negotiations, at a time and place to be determined. Israel said it wanted to disarm all non-state terror groups - a reference to Hezbollah.

Lebanon called for a ceasefire and measures to address its humanitarian crisis. The two countries do not have diplomatic relations, and the last direct, high-level talks between them took place in 1993.

Over 2,000 people have been killed since Israeli military operations in Lebanon began on 2 March, just days after US and Israeli strikes began in Iran.

While the two sides were meeting in Washington on Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed at least 24 attacks on Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon.

Drone and rocket alarms sounded in communities across northern Israel for much of the day.

Israel has said its operations in Lebanon are aimed at disarming and dismantling the group, which it also fought in 2023 and 2024 as the war in Gaza raged.

A spokesman for the US state department, Tommy Pigott, said in a statement after the talks that both Israel and Lebanon had agreed to work towards reducing the influence of Hezbollah.

The Lebanese side also called for a "ceasefire and concrete measures to address and alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis" in the country, he added.

Meanwhile, the US "expressed its support for Israel's right to defend itself" from Hezbollah's attacks, he said.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Rubio said the meeting was "a process".

"This will take time, but we believe it is worth this endeavour," he said. "It's a historic gathering that we hope to build on."

In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hoped the talks would "mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and those in the south in particular".

He said the "only solution" to the conflict would be in the Lebanese armed forces "being solely responsible for the security of the area".

The Lebanese government's capacity to confront Hezbollah, however, is limited.

Ahead of the talks, a senior member of the organisation told the AP news agency it would not abide by any settlement agreed in Washington.

"We are not bound by what they agreed to," said Wafiq Safa, a member of Hezbollah's political council.

Hezbollah, a well-armed and sophisticated militia group that was founded in 1982, holds enormous sway in Lebanon's predominantly Shia south as well as in the southern suburbs of its capital, Beirut.

Politicians affiliated with the group also hold two cabinet-level positions with the government.

Their relationship with Lebanon's central government has become increasingly strained since the group moved to enter the war between Israel and Iran, its main benefactor.

In separate talks held between the US and Iran in Pakistan, Iranian negotiators insisted that Lebanon be included in any ceasefire - although both the US and Israel said it would not.

A US state department official told the BBC that the Israel-Lebanon talks were planned a month ago, before the talks with Iran in Islamabad were confirmed.

In addition to the more than 2,000 people killed, about a million people have been displaced in the conflict since the most recent hostilities began.