Lebanon and Israel are holding new peace talks in Washington starting Thursday, as their ceasefire nears its end. The truce is still considered to be in place despite more than 400 deaths from Israeli strikes during the period.

On the eve of the negotiations, Lebanon’s health ministry said 22 people, including eight children, were killed as Israel intensified airstrikes on Wednesday.

What are the Lebanon-Israel talks in Washington about?

The Washington talks are the third round of negotiations between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations. Lebanon is seeking consolidation of the ceasefire, with one Lebanese official telling AFP: “The first thing is to put an end to the death and destruction.” Israel has continued striking Hezbollah targets throughout the truce period and has vowed to keep doing so.

The attacks on Wednesday struck around 40 locations across Lebanon’s south and east, according to the country’s state-run National News Agency. The ceasefire, which went into effect on April 17, had been extended through Sunday. More than 2,800 people have died in Lebanon since Israel launched strikes in early March, including at least 200 children, according to Lebanese authorities. Hezbollah said that toll includes its fighters.

Why did Israel agree to a ceasefire with Lebanon?

The ceasefire came after Hezbollah began firing into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the start of the US-Israeli war on February 28. Israel launched its strikes on Lebanon in early March. The truce went into effect on April 17, brokered with US involvement, though Israeli strikes have continued throughout.

What happened at the last round of Lebanon-Israel talks?

The two nations last met on April 23 at the White House, where Trump announced a three-week ceasefire extension and voiced optimism for a historic agreement. Trump predicted he would welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Washington for a first-ever summit between the two countries. That summit did not happen. Aoun said a security deal needed to be in place and Israeli attacks needed to stop before such a meeting could take place.

What is happening in Lebanon in 2026?

Israel has pounded areas of Lebanon with large Shia populations, including Beirut’s southern suburbs, and has invaded the border region, seizing control of an area it occupied from its 1982 Lebanon war until withdrawing in 2000. Iran has demanded a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon before any agreement to end the wider regional war. Tehran has frustrated Trump by refusing his appeals for an accord on his terms.

Netanyahu said last week after an Israeli strike in central Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander: “Anyone who threatens the State of Israel will die because of his actions.”

Who is representing Lebanon and Israel at the Washington talks?

Unlike the previous round at the White House, neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor Trump will attend. Trump is currently on a state visit to China. The US mediators for the two-day meeting at the State Department include ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and senior Rubio aide Mike Needham.

Lebanon will be represented by special envoy Simon Karam, a veteran lawyer and diplomat, alongside its Washington ambassador. Israel’s delegation is led by its Washington ambassador, Yechiel Leiter, a Netanyahu ally with close ties to the Israeli settler movement in the occupied West Bank.

The State Department said the talks aim “to break decisively from the failed approach of the past two decades, which allowed terrorist groups to entrench and enrich themselves, undermine the authority of the Lebanese state, and endanger Israel’s northern border.” Washington has also repeatedly pressed Lebanon to act against Hezbollah, saying comprehensive peace depends on full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of the group.