President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday, August 11, 2026 that negotiations with Israel are « progressing » and remain preferable to the « destroying results of the war », while ensuring that Lebanon will not accept the retention of any Israeli soldier in its territory. These statements, however, come at a time when direct negotiations are suspended after the seventh meeting in Rome, concluded on 6 August without further Israeli withdrawal and without an agreed date between the parties for an eighth session. Aoun also considered that Israeli attacks had decreased since the signing of the framework agreement. However, they did not stop: Israel targeted a Lebanese Army position on 10 August and, the next day, a Civil Defence team had to stop a fire in Nabatiyah after being targeted by a drone attributed to Israel. Washington, for its part, claims to be satisfied with the direction taken by the discussions and plans to resume in Rome in early September, while an Israeli official assures that no date has yet been set.
Aoun says negotiations are « progressing »
Joseph Aoun defended on Tuesday the process initiated with Israel under American mediation. The Chair considered that the discussions had made progress and that they were, whatever their difficulties, a preferable option to a new military confrontation.
» In any case, negotiations are better than the devastating results of the war, » said the Head of State. He also claimed that the intensity of Israeli attacks on Lebanon had decreased since the signing of the framework agreement reached in the course of the discussions.
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According to Aoun, this decrease had an effect on the domestic situation. In particular, it considered that it had facilitated the return of Lebanese who had spent the summer in their country. The President thus links the reduction of military pressure to a partial resumption of travel to Lebanon during the summer season.
The Head of State, however, insisted that the negotiation did not alter Lebanese objectives. He cited three priorities: Israeli withdrawal, return of prisoners and reconstruction of destroyed areas.
» There is no disagreement among Lebanese about the objectives: Israeli withdrawal, the return of prisoners and the reconstruction of what was destroyed, » he said.
Above all, Aoun excluded any lasting Israeli presence on Lebanese territory. « In the end, we will not allow Israel to stay on one inch of our territory, nor will it allow one of its soldiers to stay on our soil, » he said.
This statement comes at a time when the issue of withdrawal is precisely one of the main obstacles to discussion. The seventh meeting did not allow Lebanon to obtain the additional evacuation it requested in the South.
In Rome no further withdrawal was obtained
The President’s remarks were made five days after the end of the seventh meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli delegations. Discussions took place in Rome from 4 to 6 August under American mediation.
The meeting concluded without agreement on a further Israeli withdrawal. Beirut had requested the opening of a new experimental zone to continue the mechanism initiated in previous discussions. Bint Jbeil and Khiam were among the priorities put forward by the Lebanese side.
Israel did not accept either proposal. The Israeli side requested additional guarantees regarding the verification of Lebanese Army operations and the control of the areas concerned before further evacuation.
Discussions also focused on the possibility of involving third countries in the verification mechanism. Washington sees this as one of the results of the meeting. Lebanon, for its part, is seeking a new verification phase to be accompanied by an Israeli movement on the ground.
The last session ended earlier than expected. His delegation was dissatisfied with the absence of further withdrawal and the continuation of Israeli operations. Israeli accusations concerning the disclosure of information on the content of the discussions also weighed the end of the meeting.
Delegations eventually separated without jointly announcing a date for the eighth meeting. Direct negotiations have since been suspended, although United States contacts with both sides are continuing.
It is in this situation that Joseph Aoun asserts that the process « progresses ». His assessment includes the maintenance of the discussion channel and the issues addressed since the beginning of the meetings. On the ground, the main result requested by Beirut in Rome, a new Israeli withdrawal, was not achieved.
Washington is satisfied with the direction taken
Nevertheless, the United States has a similar appreciation to that of the Lebanese President. An official of the US State Department told Al Arabiya English that Washington was satisfied with the direction taken by the negotiations.
» We are satisfied with the course, » said the official under cover of anonymity.
According to him, the Lebanese and Israeli working groups have reconciled their positions on several technical aspects. He states that they have harmonized their « language, maps and procedures. ».
Delegations also discussed a third country verification of Lebanese Army operations in the sectors concerned. This verification is one of the most sensitive issues in the discussions, with Israel asking for guarantees before any further withdrawal.
The United States official reported that Washington had also conducted bilateral discussions with the Lebanese delegation on early reconstruction assistance. The issue is important for Beirut, which places reconstruction among the three objectives recalled on Tuesday by Joseph Aoun.
Washington also sees as progress the mere continuation of direct discussions. « The fact that the teams sat together, communicated directly and produced options is in itself a structural change, » said the US official.
However, the United States recognizes that the challenges remain numerous. « We are not naive about the difficulties, » he added.
In particular, the United States official accused Hezbollah of seeking to undermine the process and referred to the internal political pressures facing Lebanon and Israel.
Hezbollah has indeed repeatedly criticized direct negotiations and called on the Lebanese Government to abandon them.
Washington announces September, Israel says no date is set
The date of the next meeting, however, illustrates the uncertainties that remain after Rome.
The head of the State Department quoted by Al Arabiya English said that delegations should meet in Rome in early September. According to him, the conversations must continue in the meantime in Beirut, Jerusalem and Washington.
An Israeli official interviewed by CNN gives a different indication. He states that no date was set for the next round.
At this stage, therefore, no joint Lebanese-Israeli announcement confirms an eighth meeting in early September. Washington is working on that deadline, but the resumption of direct discussions remains subject to the two sides’ approaches.
On the Lebanese side, the conditions for a resumption have been discussed since the return of the delegation from Rome. Beirut calls for an effective halt to Israeli attacks, the cessation of destruction and earthmoving, and for a new withdrawal allowing the opening of another experimental zone.
The current suspension does not amount to a break in the process. Indirect contacts continue and the United States continues to mediate. However, the Lebanese and Israeli delegations are no longer negotiating in the direct format used in Rome.
The difference between the American and Israeli statements on September shows above all that no common timetable has yet been made public.
Israeli attacks have decreased, but have not stopped
Joseph Aoun also stated on Tuesday that the intensity of Israeli attacks had decreased since the signing of the framework agreement. The Chair presented this development as one of the positive results achieved since the beginning of the process.
A decrease, however, does not mean a cessation of operations. The incidents recorded on 10 and 11 August showed again.
On 10 August, Israel targeted a Lebanese Army position. The incident occurred only a few days after the end of the meeting in Rome and when Beirut specifically called for an effective reduction in Israeli operations.
On Tuesday, 11 August, Civil Defence announced that its agents had been targeted by a drone while extinguishing a grass fire in the Nabatiyah area. The firefighters had to stop their intervention and withdraw to a safe place. No injuries were reported.
The Civil Defence communiqué does not refer to Israel. However, informed sources attribute the drone to the Israeli side. According to sources close to the diplomatic process, the prudence of certain Lebanese official communications is linked to the commitments made in the negotiations to limit the public escalation between the two parties.
These incidents alone do not measure the overall evolution of the number or intensity of attacks since the framework agreement was signed. On the other hand, they show that the operations continue despite the decrease mentioned by the President.
This explains why Beirut now distinguishes a reduction in the strikes of an effective stop. This is the second objective that Lebanon seeks to achieve before or as part of a new stage in negotiations.
« Not a single Israeli soldier » on Lebanese territory
Aoun devoted a significant part of his statements to the method chosen to obtain Israeli withdrawal. The President challenged the idea that the use of force would be the only way to recover the occupied territories.
» We constantly hear slogans saying that what has been taken by force can only be taken up by force, but the realities on the ground have shown that this was wrong, » he said.
The Head of State thus defends negotiation as a means of achieving withdrawal, while affirming that the territorial objective remains unchanged.
He also referred directly to the situation of the people of the South. « It is time for the people of the South to rest and settle on their land, instead of continuing the wars waged on their behalf for non-Lebanon purposes, » said Aoun.
This statement comes in an internal debate marked by Hezbollah’s criticism of direct negotiations. The movement believes that the government must abandon this process and continues to defend armed resistance as a means of pressure against Israel.
Aoun did not take that position. On the contrary, it reaffirmed its priority for State institutions.
» My goal today is to rebuild the state, whatever the price, despite the opposition of those who seek to dismantle its foundations and prevent its reconstruction, » he said.
The President thus associates Israeli withdrawal, the return of prisoners and reconstruction with the restoration of state authority.
Withdrawal remains the main expected result
After seven meetings, several cases advanced without yet producing the territorial result requested by Lebanon.
Negotiators have a common framework for discussion, maps and procedures. Verification issues have progressed and the possible participation of third countries is now being discussed. The prisoner file is also part of the negotiations, while Washington is working with Beirut on reconstruction.
The blockage mainly concerns the transition from these discussions to a new territorial stage. Lebanon calls for Israel to evacuate another area so that the Lebanese Army can deploy there. Israel wants more guarantees before accepting this movement.
The Rome meeting did not resolve this disagreement. Bint Jbeil and Khiam were not selected as a new experimental area and no further withdrawal was announced at the end of the meeting.
This absence is the main contrast to the optimistic statements of Baabda and Washington. Both consider that negotiations are moving forward because the parties now have mechanisms and directly discuss issues that were previously blocked. On the ground, Lebanon is still waiting for the next stage.
The same shift appears on security. Aoun noted a decrease in attacks since the framework agreement. The events of the past few days, however, show that the Lebanese Army and the Civil Defence remain exposed to Israeli operations.
The two findings may coexist: the general level of confrontation may have declined without the attacks having ceased. For Beirut, the next step is precisely to transform this relative decrease into an effective cessation of operations in the sectors affected by the process.
The eighth meeting remains pending
The resumption of negotiations now depends on contacts during the suspension.
Washington is planning a new meeting in Rome in early September. An Israeli official claims that no date is arrested. On the Lebanese side, no announcement yet confirmed an unconditional participation in the next round.
The United States must therefore use the next few weeks to reconcile positions on withdrawal, verification and security. The contacts announced in Beirut, Jerusalem and Washington must continue without waiting for another direct meeting.
According to Joseph Aoun, Tuesday’s statements clearly set the presidential position: Lebanon will continue to favour negotiations rather than a new war, but it calls for the complete departure of Israeli forces.
This position will now face the results of the suspension. The President said that negotiations were progressing and Washington said it was satisfied with their course. But since the end of Rome no further withdrawal has been announced and no common date has been set for the eighth meeting.
The next steps in the US will therefore need to clarify whether the appointment announced for early September can actually take place. For Beirut, the expected element remains concrete: to obtain a new Israeli evacuation and an effective decrease in operations before delegations resume their work in Rome.
