The next round of Lebanese-Israeli talks will be held June 23-25 in Washington, the US State Department said on Friday, following a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Rubio also “reiterated the need to disarm” Hezbollah and reaffirmed US “support for the Government of Lebanon’s efforts to create a fully sovereign Lebanese state that is at peace with all its neighbors,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, stated that Israel “remains fully committed to an immediate ceasefire,” in a post on X/Twitter.
Leiter also disputed Hezbollah claims that Israel had broken the ceasefire, calling them “bold lies.”
“If Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases its hostilities, they will be met with quiet,” Leiter said.
Israel remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire. At 11:30 this morning, Israel halted all offensive operations; Hezbollah and Iranian claims to the contrary are bold lies.
If Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases its hostilities, they will be met with quiet.…
— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) June 19, 2026
IDF remains committed to destroying Hezbollah
Leiter added that Israel is “in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” in order to destroy terrorist infrastructure and ensure Israeli security.
“The people of Lebanon deserve a future free from Hezbollah’s grip, and a real, genuine peace between our two countries remains possible,” Leiter said.
In a statement earlier on Friday, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin stated that the IDF remains committed to responding to Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations and doing “whatever is necessary to protect our civilians.”
“Our mission remains the same, to ensure that Hezbollah cannot rebuild itself and pose a threat to our civilians,” Defrin said.
