Israel, Lebanon to Meet Again in Rome in October

[Financial News] Israel and Lebanon will meet again in Rome, Italy, in October under U.S. mediation to discuss a security agreement aimed at de-escalating hostilities along the border.
On the 13th, local time, a United States Department of State (State Department) official said, "Continued implementation of the agreement remains the only viable mechanism for restoring Lebanese sovereignty and Israeli security," adding, "The ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel to the United States will meet in Washington, D.C., next week." In a related report, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said, "The two ambassadors are scheduled to meet separately at the State Department next week to discuss recent developments and the implementation of the so-called 'three-party framework' agreed upon in Washington, D.C., last June."
The agreement calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian armed group in Lebanon; the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon; and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the southern region. Lebanon and Israel also held talks in Rome last July under U.S. mediation to discuss ways to implement the agreement.
Israel has been conducting military operations in Lebanon to defeat Hezbollah amid the war with Iran that began in late February.
Israel agreed in June to halt fighting with Hezbollah, but has recently intensified airstrikes on southern Lebanon again. According to Lebanese figures, more than 4,300 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli military attacks to date.
The seventh round of talks between the two sides, held in Rome, ended last month without achieving a breakthrough on the issue of southern Lebanon. Israeli forces currently control what they have designated as a 'buffer zone' extending about 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory along the border, effectively occupying the area.
Israel maintains that "it cannot withdraw unconditionally as long as Hezbollah remains armed." Hezbollah, meanwhile, opposes direct negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel and also rejects complete disarmament.
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