Lebanon Seeks Negotiations with Israel to End Hezbollah Conflict

Upadetd by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1724 EAT on Tuesday 10 March 2026

Joseph Aoun, the president of Lebanon, has called for direct negotiations with Israel as part of a proposal to end the escalating conflict with Hezbollah, while sharply criticising the Iran-backed group for dragging the country into a wider regional war.

A spokesperson for Aoun told BBC that Lebanon was prepared to enter negotiations, but not while the country remained under Israeli bombardment.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with senior officials from the European Union on Monday, Aoun outlined what he described as a path towards “permanent security and stability arrangements on our borders”.

Israeli officials have shown little sign of supporting negotiations, and the government did not immediately comment on the proposal.

Under President Joseph Aoun’s four-point plan, a “complete truce” would be tied to the disarmament of Hezbollah and international support for the Lebanese Armed Forces to reclaim control of disputed “areas of tension.”

The plan also calls for direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under international sponsorship to implement the proposed arrangements, according to an official statement.

Speaking on the humanitarian impact, Aoun said the conflict had inflicted a devastating toll on Lebanon, displacing more than 700,000 people, including 200,000 children, and killing hundreds in Israeli strikes over the past nine days, according to the United Nations.

“Many of them are on the roads. They have no shelter and lack even the most basic necessities of life,” he said.

Aoun also delivered unusually forceful criticism of Hezbollah, accusing the Iran-backed militia and political movement of prioritising its own agenda over Lebanon’s national interests.

Describing Hezbollah as an “armed faction”, he said it disregarded “Lebanon’s interests and the lives of its people” and sought the “collapse of the Lebanese state under aggression and chaos.”

The comments follow the Lebanese government’s declaration last week that Hezbollah’s military operations are illegal, though the state currently lacks the capacity to disarm the group independently.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese government directly on X, stating: “It is your responsibility to enforce the ceasefire agreement and it is your responsibility to disarm Hezbollah.”

Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, echoed the warning on Tuesday, saying Beirut had yet to take meaningful steps to curb the militia.

“At this stage, I am not aware of any decision to enter negotiations to end this war,” Zarka said. “What would end it is the disarmament of Hezbollah — and that is a choice for the Lebanese government.”

A ceasefire agreed in November 2024 under US and French mediation has largely failed to hold. Israel has continued near-daily strikes in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of attempting to rearm and re-establish its presence.

Hezbollah entered the conflict two days after the start of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, launching rockets and drones into northern Israel. The group said the strikes were retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and ongoing Israeli attacks.

President Joseph Aoun, however, described Hezbollah’s actions as a deliberate ambush targeting Lebanon and its army, aimed at drawing the Israeli military into another incursion.

Israel has said Hezbollah’s attacks justified launching a broader campaign against the group, including repeated air strikes and commando raids inside Lebanese territory. The Israeli government has vowed that the campaign will continue until Hezbollah is disarmed.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has pledged to continue attacks on Israel “at any cost.”
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least 486 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the escalation began. The Israeli military reported two soldiers killed in combat in southern Lebanon.

For families caught in the crossfire, the escalation has sparked renewed fear.
Ahmed al-Halabi, a father of two from the Dahieh district of south Beirut, fled with his extended family in the middle of the night as missiles struck nearby.

“We were running away from the bombing! There’s no safety!” he told the BBC. “I have little kids and the living conditions were already bad. You can only imagine how it is during wartime. I just want to keep my kids safe.”

Ahmed and his family are now sheltering in a school in central Beirut that has been converted into an emergency refuge.

“This is the second time my kids have experienced this, and they have developed psychological trauma. Adults can cope with this, but children cannot,” he said.

-BBC

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