Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold a third round of talks next week, with military representatives from both sides joining the ambassadors for the first time. The United States had hoped to bring the heads of both states together, but Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, has flatly refused, saying such a meeting can occur only after reaching a security agreement and after Israel stops firing on Lebanon.

The first two talks established a framework whereby Israel withdraws from Lebanon, the Lebanese government disarms Hezbollah, and relations between the two countries are normalized for the first time since they have officially been at war since 1948.

Beirut had been hoping for an agreement with Jerusalem to announce a ceasefire, and just two days after the first talks on April 14, President Donald Trump announced one. Then he announced on April 23 a three-week extension of the ceasefire, which all parties declared was separate from the ceasefire with Iran. Initially, Iran had demanded that its ceasefire be coupled with a Hezbollah truce.

The Lebanese delegation will present a list of ambitious demands, including a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, the release of Lebanese prisoners, border agreements, the ability for evacuees to return home and reconstruction of areas devastated by the fighting, according to a Saudi-owned outlet citing unnamed Lebanese officials.

Meanwhile, since the ceasefire was implemented in mid-April, Hezbollah and the IDF have continued to exchange fire. The IDF has killed hundreds of terrorists since then, with the elimination of thousands between the beginning of the war in October 2023 and the April ceasefire.

It remains to be seen whether Beirut has the will and the power to exert control over Hezbollah, but Aoun is the first Lebanese leader in decades to unequivocally express his desire to be rid of what even many Lebanese consider a menace to their society. Aoun’s position is sensitive: Strong action could spark a civil war with the Shiite population, which makes up about one third of the total population.

The IDF continues to occupy a six-mile-deep buffer zone, which it says is necessary to protect northern communities from Hezbollah fire. While the civilian population has been evacuated, the IDF has been demolishing homes because of their dual use for military purposes, such as weapons storage, according to the Israeli military, which has accused Hezbollah of cynically exploiting the civilian population as human shields and thus imperiling their lives and property.

But the scenes of destruction mirror Gaza, igniting international outrage.

Since Hezbollah joined the war with Iran, nearly 2,700 people have died in Lebanon, of whom more than 1,900 were terrorists, according to the Israeli military.