Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day extension of their ceasefire after another round of talks in Washington. US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress after America hosted two days of highly productive talks between Israel and Lebanon, which concluded yesterday.

In a social media post, Mr Pigott said the US State Department will reconvene the political track of negotiations on the 2nd and 3rd of June. In addition, a security track will be launched at the Pentagon on 29th May with military delegations from both countries. He further said the US hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force continued its attack on infrastructure linked to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli Air Force said, during the past week, they struck more than 440 infrastructures of Hezbollah in various areas in southern Lebanon. Additionally, more than 220 militants linked to Hezbollah were also killed in the region. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, since the beginning of the operation, IDF troops eliminated over 400 militants and located more than 1,000 weapons used by Hezbollah.