Israel rejects ceasefire

Israel said it will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah at Washington talks this week, and Lebanese officials said Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 10 people on April 11. (aljazeera.com) Al Jazeera, citing Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health and state media, said the dead included three emergency workers and that raids hit more than a dozen locations in the south. The same report said Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors had held late-night talks on April 10 to finalize arrangements for a meeting at the United States Department of State on Tuesday, April 14. (aljazeera.com) Reuters reported on April 10 that Israeli and Lebanese envoys were expected to meet in Washington as President Donald Trump pressed both sides to calm weeks of fighting that threatened a fragile United States-Iran ceasefire. Reuters also said Netanyahu had instructed Israel to pursue talks with Lebanon that would include the disarming of Hezbollah. (usnews.com) The immediate dispute is whether the Iran-related truce announced this week applies to Lebanon. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on April 8 that “the battle in Lebanon continues” and that the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon,” while Reuters reported Lebanon and the White House had asked Israel to pause attacks before the talks. (english.aawsat.com, yahoo.com) That has turned Lebanon into the main open front after the Iran truce. Reuters said Trump was seeking to stop fighting with Hezbollah because continued strikes risked derailing the wider deal with Tehran. (usnews.com) Netanyahu widened the confrontation on April 10 by removing Spain from the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, the United States-backed hub that helps oversee the Gaza ceasefire and humanitarian coordination. He said Spain had “defamed” Israeli soldiers and chosen to “stand against Israel.” (aljazeera.com) Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Spain had lost the ability to play a “constructive role” in the center, while AFP reporting said diplomats and military personnel from countries including France, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates also take part there. Relations between Madrid and Jerusalem have worsened since Spain recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, and both countries have withdrawn ambassadors. (thedefensepost.com) Spain has been one of Europe’s sharpest critics of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Al Jazeera reported that Netanyahu accused Madrid of waging a “diplomatic war” against Israel, while Spain had recently pushed the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel over alleged violations of international humanitarian law. (aljazeera.com) Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political movement that dominates much of southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s government is heading into the Washington meeting with a different demand: Reuters reported that a senior Lebanese official said a ceasefire was a condition for broader talks. (usnews.com, malaymail.com) So the talks due on April 14 are opening with the core issue unresolved: Israel says the war with Hezbollah is still on, and Lebanon says the shooting has to stop first. (aljazeera.com, usnews.com)