Israeli Airstrikes Shake Southern Lebanon as U.S.-Brokered Talks Continue in Rome

INTERVIEW: A new round of Israeli airstrikes struck southern Lebanon, testing already fragile ceasefire negotiations as diplomats from Lebanon and Israel continued U.S.-mediated talks in Rome.

According to regional media, Israeli strikes hit areas near Kfar Shouba, Majdal Zoun and Al-Khaniyah. Earlier in the day, an airstrike on a residential building in the town of Tebnin killed one person and injured 11 others.

The attacks come weeks after a June 26 framework agreement reached in Washington that called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. Despite that understanding, fighting has continued in southern Lebanon, where artillery fire, airstrikes and the destruction of civilian property remain a regular occurrence.

Israel says its military operations target Hezbollah positions to prevent attacks against communities in northern Israel.

Vahram Emmiyan, a Lebanese-Armenian journalist, editor of the Beirut-based Aztag newspaper and chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Lebanon, said the latest violence unfolded as negotiators met for a second day of direct talks in Rome.

“The landmine explosion in the Majdal Zoun area, which killed two Israeli soldiers, changed the atmosphere of the negotiations,” Emmiyan told The Armenian Report. “Israel accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire and announced it would respond with force.”

Despite the incident, he said the military response has so far remained limited.

“There has been no sharp escalation,” Emmiyan said. “The strikes have been geographically confined and limited in intensity, likely because of pressure from Washington, which is mediating the negotiations.”

He noted that Wednesday’s fighting prompted negotiators to end their session in Rome two hours earlier than planned, raising concerns that talks scheduled for the following day would be canceled. Instead, discussions resumed Thursday morning.

Emmiyan said Israel’s approaching parliamentary elections could increase pressure on the government to take a tougher military stance, but he believes U.S. influence continues to restrain a broader escalation.

The renewed fighting has not affected Lebanon’s Armenian community, he said.

“The strikes have been limited to southern Lebanon, where there is no Armenian population,” Emmiyan said. “Most Armenians live in eastern Beirut and in predominantly Christian areas north of the capital, so they have not been directly impacted by the current developments.”

Looking ahead, Emmiyan warned that the negotiations face major political and security obstacles.

“Even if the talks move in a positive direction, there is still a long road ahead,” he said. “Lebanon insists that Israeli forces must completely withdraw from its territory, while Israel demands the disarmament of Hezbollah.”

Those competing demands remain difficult to reconcile, particularly because Hezbollah is not participating in the negotiations and has rejected both direct talks with Israel and calls to surrender its weapons.

“It is a true Gordian knot,” Emmiyan said.

He added that negotiators in Rome are focused on developing mechanisms that could make any future agreement enforceable, but questions remain over whether such an agreement could be implemented in practice.

Emmiyan also questioned Israel’s commitment to the talks, arguing that its participation is driven more by pressure from the United States than by political willingness.

“Israel is taking part because of American pressure,” he said. “At the same time, it continues to look for opportunities to free itself from those constraints and act on its own.”

As negotiations continue in Rome, the latest exchange of violence shows how quickly battlefield developments can threaten diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing another wider conflict in the Middle East.

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