US pushes Israel toward talks as Lebanon teeters on collapse

The United States has begun pressuring Israel to prepare for negotiations with Lebanon, Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed reported Wednesday, amid growing international concern that continued fighting with Hezbollah could push the crisis-ridden country closer to total collapse.

Al-Jadeed, citing an unnamed American diplomatic source, said Washington had started leaning on Israel to get ready for talks out of concern over Lebanon’s deteriorating condition. The broadcaster also quoted an unidentified Western diplomatic source as saying Israel had told French interlocutors it would not widen its ground operations in Lebanon, though it still wanted a buffer zone extending several kilometers into Lebanese territory.

According to Al-Jadeed, some countries in contact with Lebanon are also urging Beirut to take a tougher line against the Iranian-backed terrorist group and make what the report described as “bold decisions” against its military wing.

The broadcaster further quoted Lebanese political sources as saying the war was likely to continue for at least two more weeks and that Israel, worried Washington may try to halt the campaign, was being pushed toward further escalation. Those claims also remain unconfirmed.

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump

(Photo: Yoan VALAT/Pool via REUTERS)

France’s special envoy for Lebanon said Wednesday it was unrealistic to expect Lebanon’s government to disarm Hezbollah while the country was under heavy Israeli bombardment. Paris has circulated proposals that would begin with a three-month truce to end hostilities and move toward a broader non-aggression arrangement between Israel and Lebanon, including border demarcation, reconstruction and security measures.

Fighting has triggered large-scale displacement across Lebanon

(Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)

Since then, Israeli airstrikes and military operations have killed more than 900 people in Lebanon and displaced about 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel sharply intensified its campaign on Wednesday. Lebanese authorities said strikes in Beirut killed at least 10 people, while Israeli warplanes hit bridges over the Litani River in southern Lebanon. Israel said the bridges were being used by Hezbollah to move fighters and weapons and said the strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government that it would not allow Hezbollah to use state infrastructure. UN peacekeepers reported heavy exchanges of fire, increased air and ground activity, and a larger Israeli military presence inside Lebanese territory.

Aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold

(Photo: AFP)

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization and political movement, has long been the strongest nonstate force in Lebanon, and any wider war risks drawing in the United States and other regional players. Washington and Paris previously helped broker a ceasefire between the group and Israel in late 2024.