First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roummane, on April 13, 2026. (PHOTO/AFP)

BRUSSELS/ JERUSALEM/BEIRUT – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that there could be no stability in the Middle East while Lebanon is in flames, adding that restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is of “paramount importance.”

As peace talks between the United States and Iran concluded in Islamabad without an agreement, regional mediators are racing to secure a second round of negotiations within days to prevent the collapse of the two-week ceasefire, the Wall Street Journal reported.

However, Israel expanded its ground offensive in Lebanon on Monday, a day before Israeli and Lebanese officials are due to begin direct talks in Washington.

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Speaking after a meeting of the European Commission’s College of Commissioners, von der Leyen said the European Union (EU) is concerned that continuous strikes on Lebanon could derail the entire process, and called on all parties to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and implement a complete cessation of hostilities.

She said the crisis has brought an enormous economic impact on the EU, with the bloc’s bill for fossil fuels imports rising by over 22 billion euros (about $25.72 billion) since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Qlaileh on April 13, 2026. (PHOTO/AFP)

She warned that even if hostilities ceased immediately, disruptions to energy supplies from the Gulf would persist for some time to come.

Israel-Lebanon talks

Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon laid out different expectations on Monday ahead of their upcoming talks in Washington, with Israel insisting on Hezbollah’s disarmament and a peace agreement, and Lebanon voicing hope for a ceasefire and the launch of direct negotiations.

“What we are looking to see in this dialogue is that Lebanon is committed to disarming Hezbollah, removing all its weapons, demilitarizing southern Lebanon, and also reaching a peace agreement between our two countries,” Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, told reporters.

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She said Israel “will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah, which continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks against Israel and our civilians.”

In contrast, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, during a meeting at Baabda Palace with visiting Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, said Lebanon hopes the talks “will lead to a ceasefire to launch direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.”

Ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel are due to begin rare direct talks in Washington on Tuesday, with the participation of US officials. Italy has expressed readiness to host future direct negotiations between the two sides.

Fierce fighting between Hezbollah, IDF

Fierce fighting continued Monday between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in the border city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

The agency reported fierce, close-quarter combat for a fifth day, as Israeli forces encircled the city under air cover. Hezbollah fighters confronted the advance, causing casualties.

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Hezbollah employed mobile defenses, striking troops and supply lines, notably near the municipal stadium and al-Baraka neighborhood, as Israeli warplanes and artillery carried out heavy bombardment.

Separately, Israeli bulldozers entered the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon and began demolishing homes and parts of the town.

The Lebanese Public Health Ministry said Monday that the cumulative death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon since March 2 has reached 2,089, with 6,762 others wounded.

A woman reacts at the site of a damaged residential building after it was struck by a projectile fired from Lebanon, in Nahariya, northern Israel, April 13, 2026. (PHOTO/AP)

Also on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck 150 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours and intercepted more than 10 drones launched by the Lebanese group. 

Some of the drones were also directed at Israeli troops engaged in a ground offensive in southern Lebanon, it said, adding that the Air Force continued to “remove threats” in southern Lebanon and further degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities. 

Hezbollah said it launched new missiles at Israeli forces on Monday afternoon. Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom said a woman in her 60s was lightly wounded by shattered glass in northern Israel following a rocket attack from Lebanon.