Rubio to join Israel-Lebanon talks at State Department

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join direct peace talks between Israel and Lebanon at the State Department on Tuesday, according to the official schedule.

Rubio is set to host Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad at 11 am local time as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.

The meeting will mark the launch of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and will be among the highest-level talks between the two sides in decades.

The discussion is expected to focus on securing a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and a broader peace arrangement.

The talks come amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army expanded its air and ground offensive after the Iran war. More than 2,000 people have been killed and a million displaced since early March.

Hezbollah has rejected the planned negotiations in Washington, calling them “futile” and urging the Lebanese government to focus on confronting Israeli “aggression.”