Lebanon's Aoun rejects call with Netanyahu as Israel severs last bridge to the south

Lebanon's Aoun rejects call with Netanyahu as Israel severs last bridge to the south Submitted by Heba Nasser on Thu, 04/16/2026 - 11:44 Israeli media, meanwhile, say army preparing for ceasefire with Lebanon starting Thursday evening Lebanese soldiers and first responders inspect the site of Israeli strikes on the Qasmiyeh bridge over the Litani River in southern Lebanon, on 16 April 2026 (Kawnat Haju/AFP) Off Lebanon ’s President Joseph Aoun will not speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future, a senior Lebanese official told Middle East Eye, after reports of a planned phone call between the two leaders. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Beirut had informed Washington of Aoun’s position ahead of a call between the president and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday. The development comes two days after the US hosted the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon in Washington, in the first such talks between the two countries since 1993.