JERUSALEM, April 9, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu said Thursday he ordered his cabinet to open direct talks with 
Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and establish "peace relations" between the two 
countries.

"In light of Lebanon's repeated requests to open direct negotiations with 
Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to begin direct negotiations with 
Lebanon as soon as possible," his office wrote in a statement.

"Negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace 
relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today's call by the 
Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarise Beirut," the press release added.

Israeli media outlets reported that Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to 
the US, would represent the country in the talks.

The statement came one day after Israel launched its largest wave of strikes 
on Lebanon since the start of its war with Hezbollah on March 2, leaving more 
than 200 people dead.

Lebanon's cabinet on Thursday instructed security forces to restrict weapons 
in Beirut exclusively to state institutions, in a warning to Hezbollah.

"The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin reinforcing 
the full imposition of state authority over Beirut Governorate and to 
monopolise weapons in the hands of legitimate authorities alone," Prime 
Minister Nawaf Salam said at the end of a cabinet meeting.

The Lebanese government banned Hezbollah's military activities at the 
beginning of March, shortly after the start of war with Israel, but the 
decision has not stopped the Iran-backed group from conducting military 
operations.

Beirut had also committed in 2025 to disarm the group, the only one to keep 
its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

In December, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first 
direct talks in decades, part of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

Before then, Israel and Lebanon, which have no formal diplomatic relations, 
had insisted on keeping military officers in the role.