The United States has begun pressuring Israel to prepare for negotiations with Lebanon, Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed reported Wednesday, amid growing international concern that continued fighting with Hezbollah could push the crisis-ridden country closer to total collapse.
Al-Jadeed, citing an unnamed American diplomatic source, said Washington had started leaning on Israel to get ready for talks out of concern over Lebanon’s deteriorating condition. The broadcaster also quoted an unidentified Western diplomatic source as saying Israel had told French interlocutors it would not widen its ground operations in Lebanon, though it still wanted a buffer zone extending several kilometers into Lebanese territory.
The reports could not be independently verified. France and the United States have both been involved in diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.
According to Al-Jadeed, some countries in contact with Lebanon are also urging Beirut to take a tougher line against the Iranian-backed terrorist group and make what the report described as "bold decisions" against its military wing.
The broadcaster further quoted Lebanese political sources as saying the war was likely to continue for at least two more weeks and that Israel, worried Washington may try to halt the campaign, was being pushed toward further escalation. Those claims also remain unconfirmed.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Yoan VALAT/Pool via REUTERS)
The reports surfaced as France said negotiations were the only realistic way to end the war and as French officials continued trying to mediate between Israel, Lebanon and the United States.
France’s special envoy for Lebanon said Wednesday it was unrealistic to expect Lebanon’s government to disarm Hezbollah while the country was under heavy Israeli bombardment. Paris has circulated proposals that would begin with a three-month truce to end hostilities and move toward a broader non-aggression arrangement between Israel and Lebanon, including border demarcation, reconstruction and security measures.
The latest round of fighting began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran during the wider Israel-Iran war, opening what has become the deadliest spillover into Lebanon of that regional conflict.
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Fighting has triggered large-scale displacement across Lebanon
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
Since then, Israeli airstrikes and military operations have killed more than 900 people in Lebanon and displaced about 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israel sharply intensified its campaign on Wednesday. Lebanese authorities said strikes in Beirut killed at least 10 people, while Israeli warplanes hit bridges over the Litani River in southern Lebanon. Israel said the bridges were being used by Hezbollah to move fighters and weapons and said the strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government that it would not allow Hezbollah to use state infrastructure. UN peacekeepers reported heavy exchanges of fire, increased air and ground activity, and a larger Israeli military presence inside Lebanese territory.
The fighting has fueled fears in Lebanon that Israel could be preparing a broader ground push. Israel had launched what it described as limited operations in southern Lebanon and signaled that displaced Lebanese civilians would not be allowed to return unless Israeli residents could also return safely to their homes.
Diplomatic activity has accelerated in parallel. Lebanon’s government has proposed direct talks with Israel for the first time in decades, but Lebanese officials said they want the fighting to stop before any negotiations begin.
President Joseph Aoun has also renewed calls to strengthen the Lebanese army and has reaffirmed a commitment to bring all weapons under state authority, including those held by Hezbollah, though the group has rejected such moves. Israeli officials have publicly downplayed the prospects for imminent talks.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization and political movement, has long been the strongest nonstate force in Lebanon, and any wider war risks drawing in the United States and other regional players. Washington and Paris previously helped broker a ceasefire between the group and Israel in late 2024.