BEIRUT, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The bilateral negotiations between Lebanon and Israel will be conducted by a Lebanese delegation headed by former Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam, the Lebanese presidency said Monday.
In a post on social media platform X, the presidency said the goals of the negotiations are to halt hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern areas, and deploy the army to the internationally-recognized southern border.
"No one else will participate on Lebanon's behalf or take its place in this mission," it said.
It said the anticipated talks are separate from any other negotiation tracks, framing the situation as a choice between prolonged war with its humanitarian, social, economic, and sovereignty costs or a negotiated settlement.
Separately, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported Monday Israeli violations of the ongoing ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, with Israeli artillery shelling the southern border area of Houla.
The NNA also reported an Israeli demolition operation in a town in the Marjeyoun district.
On Sunday, Israel's military released a map of a "buffer zone" it is working to establish in southern Lebanon, showing a broad area extending several kilometers inside Lebanese territory and forming a continuous belt from Lebanon's Mediterranean territorial waters to the Mount Hermon area near the Syrian border.
The map was released three days after Washington announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which aims to end the deadly escalation between Israel and Hezbollah since early March when Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel in support of Iran, triggering intensified Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon.
A previous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which took place in November 2024, was characterized by near-daily Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Enditem
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