What to know about Lebanon-Israel 7th round of talks held in Rome
The US, Israel and Lebanon have sent expanded delegations to the talks, set to continue for three days and expected to focus on security arrangements, border issues and reconstruction.
BEIRUT — Lebanon and Israel began a seventh round of US-sponsored direct talks in Rome on Tuesday amid ongoing Israeli demolitions in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm.
The three-day talks will focus on advancing the trilateral framework agreement reached under US auspices in June, which calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the deployment of the Lebanese military and the removal of weapons and military infrastructure belonging to non-state armed groups including Hezbollah.
According to news reports, discussions will also address the expansion of pilot zones in south Lebanon, border issues and reconstruction.
The meeting is the second to be held in Rome, following an earlier round on July 14 and 15. Lebanon and Israel had previously met in Washington for their first direct talks in decades that began in April.
Who's attending: Lebanon dispatched a large delegation to Rome on Monday headed by Simon Karam, former ambassador to Washington. Lebanon’s current ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh will also be attending alongside Brig. Gen. George Rizkallah, who is leading a team of five specialist officers.
The Israeli delegation is once again headed by Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and includes members from the Israeli military, the Defense Ministry and the National Security Council.
On the US side, the delegation will be composed of 15 officials from the State Department, the National Security Council and the Pentagon, according to Saudi-owned Al-Hadath.
Why it matters: The three-day talks come as Israeli military operations continue in southern Lebanon despite the conditional ceasefire announced on June 3.
According to a Tuesday report by Haaretz, the parties will primarily discuss the functioning of the pilot zones already underway as well as the possibility of expanding the pilot program to additional areas, including the villages of Froun, Srifa and Bint Jbeil.
The report cited an Israeli source as saying that the 2022 maritime border agreement might also be discussed, particularly regarding several disputed points, but stressing that there was no intention to revoke it.
The Lebanese side is expected to press for the consolidation of the ceasefire and an end to Israeli military operations. Lebanon will also present proposals for a new pilot zone in Bint Jbeil or Khiam, a Lebanese source involved in the negotiations told Asharq al-Awsat.
Since hostilities with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group resumed on March 2, the Israeli military has stepped up its operations in southern Lebanon, bulldozing and torching homes and burning agricultural land.
On Monday, Israeli forces used phosphorus bombs in multiple areas in the south, causing fires in olive and pine groves in the towns of Yaroun and Haroun and the city of Bint Jbeil, according to the state-run National News Agency. They also set olive groves in Yaroun on fire overnight Sunday, destroying over 120 hectares of fruit orchards and olive groves, according to local media.
Fires are seen raging on the outskirts of south Lebanon's Taybeh hours after the Israeli occupation forces purposely set fire to olive groves in the region. pic.twitter.com/yWwSPYf476
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 2, 2026
Last Friday, the Israeli military claimed it blew up a massive Hezbollah tunnel network beneath the historic Beaufort Castle in the southern city of Nabatieh, using around 700 tons of explosives and causing tremors felt in nearby towns.
During a cabinet meeting on Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon's efforts in Rome would focus on securing a phased Israeli withdrawal.
On July 20, the US State Department announced the launch of pilot zone operations in the southern villages of Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, the first areas selected to implement the framework agreement.
The announcement coincided with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s landmark visit to Washington, where he held his first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump.
The Lebanese military has already deployed in Zawtar al-Gharbiya in the Nabatieh district, which lies within Israel’s so-called Yellow Line.
In Froun and Srifa, which are outside the area where Israeli ground forces are currently deployed, the Lebanese military said it was setting up checkpoints and conducting regular patrols.
Know more: Hezbollah's continued refusal to disarm remains one of the biggest obstacles to progress in the US-backed talks between Lebanon and Israel.
In a speech on Tuesday ahead of the start of the talks in Rome, Hezbollah’s secretary general reiterated his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with Israel, saying they had brought Lebanon “nothing but shame, humiliation and successive compromises.”
He called on the Lebanese government to engage in dialogue with Hezbollah to secure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.
“We will confront those who collaborate with the Israeli project and implement its plans against the resistance, its people and our homeland, just as we confront the Israeli enemy,” Naim Qassem warned.
