US urges comprehensive Lebanon-Israel peace deal in rare talks

WASHINGTON – 15 April 2026: The United States has expressed its hope that rare direct talks between Israel and Lebanon can bring about a comprehensive peace deal.

The US made the remarks in a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington on Tuesday, their first since 1993, which come amid ongoing Israeli strikes that killed thousands in Lebanon over the past 45 days.

During the talks, Lebanon called for the implementation of the 2024 ceasefire agreement amidst ongoing Israeli strikes.

Lebanon also stressed the need to address the country’s humanitarian crisis. Israel, however, said it would work to dismantle “terror infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, the US reaffirmed its support for Israel’s right to self-defense and for Lebanon’s efforts to restore sovereignty.

All parties agreed to move toward direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue, in what the statement described as the first high-level engagement between Israel and Lebanon since 1993.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon amid ongoing exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah since Israeli-US strikes on Lebanon late in February.