New round of Israel-Lebanon talks moved to Washington; Rome round pushed back to October: Axios

The next round of Israel-Lebanon talks, originally scheduled for Rome next week, has been postponed, a US official said on Friday, according to Axios. Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors will instead meet at the State Department in Washington to discuss developments and continued implementation of the June framework agreement, said the official. The next round of formal negotiations will take place in Rome in October, the US official told Axios. A source familiar with the matter said the Jewish holidays, the Paris conference in support of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and preparations for the UN General Assembly made it impossible for key participants to convene in Rome as originally planned. There was no comment from Israel or Lebanon on the change of plans. Read: US-led Israel-Lebanon talks set for next week in Rome Lebanon and Israel have held seven rounds of direct negotiations since April, five in Washington and the last two in Rome. Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the talks and urged the government to halt the negotiations. The sixth round resulted in a preliminary agreement to designate two "pilot areas" to begin implementing the Israeli withdrawal. The latest development in the talks came after the Lebanese army said on Wednesday that it had recorded 7,700 Israeli violations since the framework agreement was signed on June 26, warning that the continuing violations threaten existing understandings and arrangements. The “framework formula” provides for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory, starting with a model in two pilot areas, in return for the deployment of the Lebanese army. Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the war in 2023-2024, while expanding its presence inside Lebanese territory during its ongoing assault.