ROME: Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors are due to hold direct talks in Rome this month, Italy’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after several rounds of discussions in Washington aimed at de-escalation.

“We welcome with pleasure the announcement that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon mediated by the US will take place in Rome,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X.

The talks would take place at the ambassador level on July 15 and 16, a ministry spokesman said.

This round of talks will be the sixth since spring between the two neighbours, which do not have diplomatic relations and are technically in a state of war.

School principal, her mother among four killed in Israeli strike

The two countries and the United States signed a framework agreement last month aimed at “lasting peace”, five days after the entry into force of a fragile ceasefire in the renewed fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli forces.

This framework agreement stipulates that the Lebanese army will restore its authority in the south of the country, starting with “pilot zones” from which the Israeli army would withdraw.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed around 4,300 people over past four months, according to Beirut.

On Monday, an Israeli drone attack on a car in southern Lebanon killed at least four people, including a school principal and her mother, according to Lebanese state media.

The victims were returning from checking on their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa when they came under attack.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026