AJ
🔹 Intensive contacts were underway on Wednesday evening to prevent significant Israeli airstrikes on the town of Al-Mansouri, according to the LCBI, following the death of Major Harel Birnstock (34), who has been confirmed by the IDF to have been one of the IDF soldiers killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon earlier on Wednesday morning.
🔹 An early departure occurred of the Lebanese delegation in Rome due to the Israeli warning that was issued in Arabic on Wednesday afternoon ordering the residents of Al-Mansouri to head 1,000km north, and to avoid being near any known Hezbollah operatives or operations, for their own safety.
🔹 Reports from Al Jadeed said that three tracks in the framework had seen progress, with the issues of borders, military, and political talks all gaining movement, while Lebanon’s international rights showed the most advances, leading the US delegation to request a suspension of the negotiations at 4pm to conduct its own consultations, with discussions scheduled to resume on Thursday.
🔹 Lebanon have also reportedly called for the renewal and confirmation of a full ceasefire for 60 days, with an agreement to be reached on the date of its announcement, as well as presenting a comprehensive border proposal documented from the Armistice Line to the Blue Line and current positions, drawing US praise for a ‘well-structured’ presentation.
🔹 Military discussions focused on operational mechanisms along two pilot zones, expansion parameters, and scheduling new areas – with Bint Jbeil and Khiam noted early by AJ News as being under serious consideration, despite Israeli representatives declaring no official representatives, while Al-Arabiya said that Froun and Zawtar were also under consideration.
🔹 Political deliberations centred on establishing a third-party verification framework that would evaluate implementation mechanisms alongside formal readiness expressed by several nations to undertake monitoring responsibilities.
🔹 Lebanon are still waiting on Israel’s political leadership to make its final position known on fixing the 60-day ceasefire ahead of planned Thursday talks which are due to focus on the prisoners currently held by Israel.
🔹 According to a statement from the Lebanese Armed Forces, there was no truth to the claims made by Israel that the town of Al-Mansouri is located within the security zone, or that the LAF violated the agreement, stating that residents who returned to Al-Mansouri entered the village alongside Lebanese Forces and in coordination with the relevant authorities including the mechanism established.
🔹 However, the IDF went on to request authorisation for a large-scale strike against Lebanon following what it designated a ‘blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah,’ though the political echelon blocked immediate action as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with senior defence officials on a potential overnight response.
🔹 Strikes throughout the day had been executed against Al-Mansouri and Majdal Zoun, accompanied by the order issued by IDF Arabic Spokesperson Lt. Col. Ella Wa’ya in the Al-Mansouri area.
🔹 PM Netanyahu was due to conduct a phone consultation this evening with Defence Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and senior defence officials, according to Ynet, who said that discussions would focus on continued military actions considering what they described as Hezbollah violations, which came after the previously mentioned Major entered a booby-trapped property in order to arrange its demolition, along with a small Israeli crew, triggering the IED and causing several severe injuries.
🔹 US State Department and diplomatic officials told CNN that the talks ended early following a request by Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter citing ‘misleading leaks’ by the Lebanese delegation, while a Lebanese diplomatic source said the pause to the consultations was due to fears that ongoing strikes could disrupt Thursday’s scheduled resumption.
🔹 According to the report, the US officials described the political and military discussions as ‘extremely productive,’ adding that technical teams achieved progress in determining implementation details for the Trilateral Framework, as diplomatic contacts continued to de-escalate field tensions.
