Israel And Lebanon Expected To Hold Direct Talks In Coming Days: Haaretz Report

JERUSALEM, March 14 (Reuters) – Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold direct talks for the first time since the beginning of the Iran war, which dragged Lebanon into an even deeper conflict, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Saturday, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

Haaretz said that US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will attend the talks to be held in Paris or Cyprus, where the Israeli delegation will be chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidant Ron Dermer.

Haaretz said the talks are expected to focus on ending the conflict in Lebanon and disarmament of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah opened fire on Israel on March 2, saying it was retaliating for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the beginning of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Israel has since launched a massive bombing campaign against the powerful Lebanese armed group, killing more than 770 people and displacing hundreds of thousands, while Hezbollah has also fired hundreds of rockets at the border.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Toby Chopra)