"Washington 5" between Beirut and Tel Aviv ends its second day without results

The second day of the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Washington ended without achieving any real breakthrough, amid identical sources confirming that the fifth round is still taking place in the same cycle represented by the  Israeli withdrawal complex and the lack of agreement on a clear timetable or on the areas from which the withdrawal should begin.

According to the information, Wednesday's session  lasted for about 8 hours at the military level with the participation of the head of the Lebanese delegation, former Ambassador Simon Karam, and the talks will be completed on Thursday afternoon at the political level at the end of the tour.

Although the session was described as "better" than Tuesday's, it made little progress except to agree on some technical details and confirm the continuation of the truce , which Israel violated more than once on Wednesday.

 Leaks from within the negotiations indicated  that the fundamental disagreement still exists over the mechanism of Israel's withdrawal from the areas it occupies in the south, amid a Lebanese adherence to a "not long" timetable, in contrast to a disagreement over the areas from which the Israeli army must withdraw first.

US official: Continuation of negotiations is a positive sign

  A U.S. State Department official described the talks as "difficult" but called their continuation "a positive thing in itself," stressing that the goal is to achieve lasting peace and security.

 Official Lebanese sources said that the discussion is currently focused on "test areas", with intensive US efforts to push the parties towards an agreement, amid hopes that today's meeting will make progress on this file.

Observers said that the fifth round is the most difficult so far, after witnessing several tensions, most notably the refusal of the Lebanese military delegation to take a joint photo with the Israeli delegation, which sparked an internal debate between those who considered the move a "national position" and those who saw it as a departure from the political decision.

Nawaf Salam: We know very well what we want

In parallel with the stalemate in the negotiations, Hizbullah renewed its accusation that Israel committed a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire after a drone strike on Doha Kfar Rumman that killed  civilians, stressing that it was "monitoring and monitoring" these violations.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces opened fire on civilians in Nabatieh as they worked to open roads and retrieve bodies from the rubble, resulting in deaths and injuries.

 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon was part of the cell formed in Switzerland to stabilize the ceasefire, but stressed that "Washington's path is different."

He stressed that Lebanon went to the negotiations because it is "the least expensive way," adding, "We know very well what we want: a complete Israeli withdrawal, we will not accept the remaining five points or two points, and we demand the release of prisoners and an end to the outstanding points on the border."

He pointed out that the Israeli side will put forward security arrangements "we will discuss what is acceptable and what is not acceptable," stressing that he is "not pessimistic."