U.S.-mediated talks resume in Rome as Israel-Lebanon cease-fire remains tenuous

Israeli and Lebanese representatives convened at the U.S. embassy in Rome on Tuesday for a second round of talks mediated by Washington, seeking to build on a preliminary agreement signed on June 26. The earlier deal linked Israel’s pull-back from southern Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah and the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces to the vacated areas, allowing displaced residents to return.

The meetings come amid ongoing hostilities that have resulted in thousands of casualties and displaced over a million people, with Israeli forces still present in parts of southern Lebanon. Critics in Lebanon have noted that the agreement lacks a fixed timetable for Israel’s withdrawal, tying it instead to progress on Hezbollah’s disarmament, a process the Lebanese government has struggled to advance.

The negotiations occur as the broader regional cease-fire framework, also brokered by the United States, faces uncertainty after recent statements from Iran and the United States indicating the agreement may be ending.

"I hope the talks will produce concrete and practical steps on the ground," Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said, urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize that military action alone will not secure lasting stability.