Lebanon’s Aoun to meet with Trump in Washington to discuss Israel | Israel attacks Lebanon News

The leaders of Lebanon and the US are expected to discuss the end of the war, the south of Lebanon, and the withdrawal of Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will visit the White House to meet with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, as US-led efforts to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah enter a new phase.

Aoun, who is traveling at the invitation of Trump, left for Washington on Saturday.

He is expected to meet with the US president and other senior officials next week to discuss ways to end the war, protect Israel from southern Lebanon and “restore security and stability” throughout the country, according to a statement from the Lebanese president.

The negotiations will also involve expanding the sovereignty of the country of Lebanon in all its regions.

It will be the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese leader since Michel Sleiman met with then President Barack Obama in 2009.

The visit comes just days after Lebanese and Israeli officials concluded part of the negotiations between the US in Rome. US officials said that the two sides have agreed on the following steps to create an “airport” in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army will begin to withdraw, and the Lebanese army will take over security.

Pilot units are part of a The agreement was reached in June This means that they will gradually end the Israeli war in southern Lebanon. But the agreement does not set a deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Instead, the withdrawal was linked to Hezbollah and other armed groups, which Hezbollah denied.

The attack on Israel continues

Even as negotiations continue, the Israeli military has remained inside what it calls a 10km (six-mile) “safe zone” along the border and is continuing to launch airstrikes.

The Lebanese government reported a new attack by Israel on two towns on the outskirts of the province of Tire and Nabatieh on Saturday.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah compound near Tebnit in southern Lebanon after the military detected a Hezbollah plane in the area, adding that the operation violated the ceasefire. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

Israeli officials say their forces will remain in the security zone as long as Hezbollah remains armed.

Hezbollah has rejected both talks and a framework agreement, rejecting calls to disarm. The group says that only continued pressure from its ally Iran can end the war and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

The latest war escalated after months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that began killing Israelis in Gaza in October 2023. The war escalated into a full-scale war in March after the US and Israel attacked Iran.

Although the ceasefire is now in place, Israeli forces remain inside southern Lebanon as well continue to introduce periodic changes while negotiations for a long-term settlement continue.

More than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed and more than a million displaced by Israel’s war in Lebanon since March, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.