Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that Lebanon is ready to negotiate with Israel to end strikes on his country from the Jewish state, international media reported on Friday.
Aoun, who announced in a televised speech that Lebanon was ready for negotiations, reportedly said that talks would involve the IDF withdrawing from the five outposts in Lebanese territory. The military said in February that a company of troops would man each outpost for an indefinite period.
The Lebanese leader added that the country's soldiers would be prepared to be dispatched to the areas the IDF withdraws from, including the five aforementioned outposts from which the IDF would pull out in the supposed negotiations.
IDF struck Hamas in Lebanon earlier this week
Hours before his speech, the IDF announced that its strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed 13 Hamas terrorists who were operating in a training compound in the area. Among the Hamas terrorists was Jawad Sidawi, who the IDF stated was involved in training terrorists to carry out terror attacks from Israel's northern neighbor against the Jewish state. The Israeli military said that Lebanon has yet to successfully disarm Palestinian factions in the country, despite their pledge to do so.
It hasn't been made clear whether Israel would agree to engage in negotiations, according to the Associated Press, nor did the Lebanese president say whether the US or the international community would sponsor talks.
Aoun's speech also comes a day after the country's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, said Lebanon is open to engaging with Israel in a partnership for disempowering Hezbollah, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Salam was cited in the report as saying that Lebanon would be willing to seek American support for negotiations.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.