2026-05-06T15:16:00+00:00

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Shafaq News- Beirut

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam
on Wednesday described any potential meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu as “premature,” as preparations continue for a new round of direct
Lebanese-Israeli talks expected next week in Washington.

Speaking to reporters, Salam
stressed that any high-level contact with Israel would require extensive
preparation, while reiterating that Lebanon is seeking “peace, not
normalization.”

While noting that consolidating the
April 17 ceasefire would form the basis for any upcoming negotiations, Salam
outlined Beirut’s minimum demands, including a timetable for Israel’s
withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and indicated that authorities would move
forward with a plan to place all weapons under state control —primarily
referring to Hezbollah, which has framed its daily operations against the
Israeli army as a response to repeated ceasefire violations and deadly strikes.

Meanwhile, Lebanese broadcaster LBCI,
citing sources, reported that a third round of direct talks at the US State
Department would span two consecutive days —either Wednesday and Thursday or Thursday and Friday—
and include former Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam, current
Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, Consul Wissam Botros, and a representative of
the Lebanese Armed Forces.

According to the outlet, Moawad has
held continuous coordination meetings with aides to US Secretary of State Marco
Rubio in preparation for the negotiations.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli
strikes have continued across southern and eastern Lebanon. The UN refugee
agency described the situation as “deeply fragile,” reporting at least 380 deaths
since the truce took effect. Since hostilities resumed on March 2, Israeli
attacks on Lebanon have killed 2,702 people and wounded 8,311 others, including
women and children, according to the Health Ministry.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz
described the military approach in Lebanon as modeled on operations in Gaza,
involving large-scale destruction.

Read more: How Lebanon’s fragmented power blocks a peace with Israel