Ceasefire not included: Lebanon begins historic 'exploratory' talks with Israel

Ceasefire not included: Lebanon begins historic 'exploratory' talks with Israel Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Tue, 04/14/2026 - 17:14 This comes as the Lebanese government shows little to no leverage over Hezbollah, which was not represented Left to right: US State Department Counsellor Michael Needham; US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa; Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad; and Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter meet at the State Department in Washington, DC, on 14 April 2026 (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Off The Trump administration on Tuesday hosted Lebanon and Israel's top diplomats in Washington for the first direct talks between the two sides in more than three decades. But a ceasefire was not on the agenda, and the main subject of concern, Hezbollah, had no representation, leaving Lebanese officials with little to no authority coming into the meeting. "I know some of you were shouting questions about a ceasefire," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters.