Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held a rare direct engagement in Washington on Saturday, facilitated by the Trump administration, as both sides sought to formalise terms for a lasting end to hostilities in southern Lebanon. The meeting, confirmed by the White House, marks the first substantive leader-level contact between the two countries since the November 2024 ceasefire entered into force.

The central dispute remains Israel's insistence on maintaining troops inside an expanded security zone in southern Lebanon, a position Netanyahu reaffirmed publicly this week. Lebanese officials and Hezbollah have both signalled that any permanent arrangement must include a full Israeli withdrawal to the internationally recognised Blue Line, setting up a difficult negotiating session.

Trump, who floated the possibility of a White House meeting during remarks on Thursday, was expected to join portions of the talks alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been the administration's primary point of contact on Lebanon-Israel diplomacy. Senior US officials described the Saturday session as exploratory rather than a formal treaty negotiation, with the goal of establishing a framework for phased Israeli redeployment.

Hezbollah issued a statement through affiliated channels reiterating that any ceasefire framework must be 'comprehensive,' a reference to the group's demand that any deal be linked to broader Palestinian issues. The Lebanese government, eager to reassert sovereignty in the south, faces pressure from both Hezbollah domestically and international donors who have tied reconstruction funds to a stable security arrangement.

Analysts cautioned that a single day of talks was unlikely to resolve the core sovereignty disputes, but the direct engagement itself was viewed as significant progress. 'The fact that both sides are in the same room, hosted by Washington, changes the diplomatic geometry,' said one European official familiar with the negotiations. A joint statement was anticipated by Saturday evening, though its substance remained unclear ahead of the meeting.