Israeli and Lebanese military delegations sat across from each other at the Pentagon on Friday for the first direct military talks between the two countries in decades, a meeting aimed at enforcing a fragile ceasefire while Israeli forces simultaneously pushed deeper into southern Lebanon.
The talks, mediated by the United States, opened Friday morning in Washington with a stated focus on preventing renewed escalation along the Israel-Lebanon border. But the central question looming over the table remains unanswered: who, exactly, will disarm Hezbollah?
Not a single weapon has been confiscated from the Iran-backed terrorist organization under the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire, Fox News reported, citing Ahmed Sharawi, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The Lebanese state, which was assigned responsibility for disarming Hezbollah under that agreement, has yet to present a feasible plan to do so.
Even as the delegations met in Washington, Israeli forces were advancing on the ground. AP News reported that Israeli troops entered the southern Lebanese village of Dibbine and crossed the strategic Litani River. Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanese villages on Friday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking from Israel’s northern front the same day, made clear that military pressure would not ease for the sake of diplomacy.
“Our forces have crossed the Litani; they have advanced to controlling positions. We are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa, across the entire width of the front, and we are dealing Hezbollah a crushing blow.”
The Pentagon, in a statement released late Friday, described the talks as “productive” and said they focused on “building practical frameworks for regional security and stability.” It stopped short of noting any concrete accomplishments or agreements.
That gap, between the word “productive” and any measurable result, tells you most of what you need to know about where things stand.
The November 2024 ceasefire placed a clear obligation on the Lebanese government: take responsibility for disarming Hezbollah. More than six months later, the record is barren. Sharawi put it bluntly.
“We are yet to see the confiscation of one single bullet from Hezbollah.”
The Lebanese Armed Forces delegation was led by Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, the LAF commander who previously served as the force’s leader in southern Lebanon, the very region where Hezbollah maintains its strongest presence and where, in 2024, the IDF discovered a Hezbollah weapons cache near a UNIFIL post.
Sharawi described the talks as focused on de-confliction and on defining expectations for the LAF’s role in a broader disarmament plan against Hezbollah’s weapons. But he identified the core obstacle plainly.
“The biggest obstacle here is that the Lebanese state is yet to present a feasible plan to disarm Hezbollah.”
The broader regional conflict that produced this ceasefire, tied to the U.S., Iran confrontation, has shaped every element of the diplomatic landscape. The Trump administration has been working to bring the Iran conflict toward resolution, and the Lebanon track is a direct extension of that effort.
Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a former chief of the Israeli Military Intelligence research division, offered a stark assessment of Lebanon’s paralysis.
“There is no doubt the Lebanese government does not have a monopoly on the use of force in Lebanon.”
That single sentence captures the structural problem. Lebanon is a sovereign state in theory. In practice, Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization armed and funded by Iran, operates a military apparatus that the Lebanese government cannot or will not confront.
Kuperwasser said the Lebanese government fears that military action against Hezbollah would trigger civil war. “That fear shapes everything,” he said.
Sharawi echoed the concern, noting that fear of civil war hangs over every discussion about disarmament. The result is a government frozen in place, bound by a ceasefire agreement it signed but lacks the will or capacity to enforce.
The Trump administration has pressed Iran directly on the broader conflict, and the Pentagon-mediated talks represent a parallel effort to weaken Tehran’s influence through its most important proxy.
Kuperwasser argued that the talks serve a purpose beyond the negotiating table. The very fact that Israeli and Lebanese military officials are sitting together sends a signal, to Hezbollah, to Iran, and to the United States.
“The purpose of these talks is first and foremost to send a message to Hezbollah and also to the Americans. Both sides are prepared to sit together against Hezbollah and signal that they are moving, even if slowly, toward normalization between Israel and Lebanon.”
He noted a shift in Lebanese public sentiment. For years, Hezbollah positioned itself as Lebanon’s defender. That narrative has eroded.
“For years Hezbollah portrayed itself as the defender of Lebanon. Now many Lebanese see Hezbollah as responsible for the suffering Lebanon is experiencing.”
Whether that shift in public opinion translates into political will remains an open question. The Lebanese government has shown no sign of converting popular frustration into action against Hezbollah’s arsenal.
The ceasefire, brokered by the U.S. in mid-April, was extended on May 15 for another 45 days. Newsmax reported that Israeli troops continued pushing deeper into southern Lebanon even as the extension held, underscoring the fragility of the arrangement.
A State Department official reiterated the administration’s position in familiar terms: “As we have continuously stated, the only path to lasting peace is through direct negotiations between the two sovereign governments.”
The diplomatic gathering on April 14 at the State Department brought together an unusual group: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, State Department Counselor Michael Needham, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. The breadth of that meeting signaled the administration’s seriousness about the Lebanon track.
The military costs of the broader Iran confrontation have been substantial. The Navy has sought billions to rebuild Tomahawk missile stocks drained by the conflict, a reminder that diplomatic progress on the Lebanon front would ease pressure on American military resources as well.
The talks produced no announced agreement, no timeline for follow-up meetings, and no public statement of next steps. The actual content of the discussions has not been disclosed. The Lebanese government issued no direct comment. Israel’s government offered no formal reaction to the talks themselves, only Netanyahu’s statement about ongoing military operations.
How much territory Israel currently occupies in southern Lebanon, and what terms are being negotiated for withdrawal, remain unclear. The ceasefire is described as fragile, but no specific violations or incidents have been detailed publicly.
The community of Rmeish, a southern Lebanese town where churches remained standing throughout the conflict, offers a small but telling detail. Residents say the community resisted Hezbollah’s attempts to launch rockets from their area, a reminder that ordinary Lebanese, not just diplomats and generals, have had to live with the consequences of Hezbollah’s grip on their country.
Iran’s role in sustaining Hezbollah remains the thread connecting every element of this story. The Trump administration has pursued direct engagement with Iran’s leadership on the broader conflict, and the Lebanon talks are one piece of a larger effort to dismantle Tehran’s network of proxy influence.
Sharawi framed the administration’s motive directly: “The reason behind these meetings is that President Trump is really trying to push for a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
Getting Israeli and Lebanese officers into the same room at the Pentagon is a genuine achievement. But a meeting is not a plan, and a plan is not enforcement. The November 2024 ceasefire gave Lebanon one job, disarm Hezbollah, and not a single bullet has changed hands.
Until the Lebanese government finds the courage to confront the armed state-within-a-state on its own soil, these talks will remain what they are: a signal, not a solution. And signals don’t disarm terrorists.
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