Lebanese, Israeli envoys to meet at White House as Trump greets delegates

Washington: The ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel are set to hold talks at the White House, where President Donald Trump will greet them on arrival, a US official confirmed on Thursday.

A White House official told Anadolu, The ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon will now take place at the White House. President Trump will greet the representatives upon their arrival.

The meeting is expected to begin at 4pm local time, or 2100 GMT. It had initially been scheduled to take place at the State Department, but the venue was changed only hours before the talks were due to start.

It was not immediately clear who would take part from the US side. However, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, were seen entering the White House.

Before the venue change, the State Department had said the US delegation would include US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa.

The meeting will mark the second round of talks between Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter within as many weeks, taking place against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire.

Lebanon and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations. Their first round of talks in more than three decades was held on April 14 at the State Department.

A 10-day ceasefire brokered by the United States took effect on April 16 and is due to expire on Sunday. More than 2,200 people have been killed and over 1 million displaced by expanded Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, shortly after the start of a war against Iran that was initiated by the US and Israel.

The attacks have continued despite the 10-day US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon agreed on April 16.

Second meeting in two weeks

The latest talks come as Washington continues efforts to sustain the truce between Lebanon and Israel. The two ambassador-level meetings in quick succession represent a rare diplomatic engagement between the two countries, which have not maintained formal relations.

The White House decision to host the meeting, instead of the State Department as originally planned, came shortly before the scheduled start. No further explanation for the change was provided in the official confirmation.

The ceasefire now in place was arranged by the United States and began on April 16. It is scheduled to run for 10 days, with its current term ending on Sunday.

The talks are being held while hostilities and their humanitarian impact remain severe. The reported death toll since March 2 exceeds 2,200, while displacement has crossed 1 million people.