Israel's air defense systems intercept projectiles launched from Lebanon, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, May 31, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA-Yonhap
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire on Tuesday while Lebanese and Israeli envoys met in Washington for direct talks, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the militant group was the only impediment to a peace deal.
The fighting came after U.S. President Donald Trump declared Monday that he had brokered a deal which the Lebanese embassy in Washington said would at first only cover Israeli attacks on Beirut and Hezbollah attacks on Israeli territory, before expanding in scope.
Israel has been fighting Hezbollah since the group dragged Lebanon into the wider Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2 in support of Iran.
Neither side has publicly accepted Trump's deal, with senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati telling AFP in a written statement the group "will not accept a partial ceasefire."
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes, some of them deadly, on around 30 locations across the south on Tuesday.
Hezbollah meanwhile said it had attacked Israeli troops in southern Lebanese lands they occupy, but had not claimed attacks in Israel.
The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles from Lebanon, without reporting any injuries.
The fighting took place with Israeli and Lebanese diplomats in Washington for a fourth round of direct talks since the start of the current war.
"Israel and Lebanon can do a peace deal tomorrow," Rubio told a hearing of the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.
Source: Korea Times News
