• Aoun says security deal must come before meeting with Netanyahu
• Hezbollah chief opposes negotiations until war stops

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said its forces clashed with Israeli soldiers on Monday in south Lebanon near the border where the troops are still operating, despite a ceasefire since April 17.

Hezbollah said in a statement that after Israeli troops attempted to advance near the town of Deir Seryan — which is inside the Israeli-declared “yellow line” where Lebanese residents have been told not to return — its fighters “opened fire on the enemy force and engaged in heavy clashes with them”.

The Israeli military confirmed there were clashes with Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon.

“Earlier today, two IDF soldiers were moderately injured as a result of a close-quarters encounter with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement. “The soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital.”

Security deal

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were needed before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sought by Washington.

Aoun’s office said in a statement that the president “reiterated his view that the timing is not appropriate now for a meeting” with Netanyahu.

The statement quoted Aoun as saying: “We must first reach a security agreement and stop the Israeli attacks on us before we raise the issue of a meeting between us.” Israeli and Lebanese representatives last month met twice in Washington — the first such meetings in decades, which came after Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, sparking heavy Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.

After the first talks, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon that began on April 17, and a three-week extension after the second round.

The two countries are preparing for direct negotiations. The statement from Aoun’s office said a third round of “preparatory talks” were expected “in the coming days”.

At the second meeting later in April, Trump said he expected Aoun and Netanyahu to meet jointly with him at the White House “over the next couple of weeks”.

Last week, the US embassy in Beirut urged such a meeting, saying that “Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future,” adding that “the time for hesitation is over”.

‘No loss’

The planned negotiations have caused a rift in Lebanon, with Hezbollah rejecting direct negotiations as well as Beirut’s previous commitment to disarm it. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem earlier on Monday criticised direct talks, saying they put Lebanon “under tutelage”, and instead called for diplomacy that leads to an end to the war. “Direct negotiations are a gratuitous concession, without results,” Qassem said.

Aoun said “there is no turning ba­­­ck from negotiations, be­­­cause we have no other option”, according to the statement from his office, reiterating that the process so­­­u­­­ght to achieve withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2026