JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, April 10 - Israeli and Lebanese officials are expected to meet in Washington next week as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to calm weeks of Israeli fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to derail a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Both sides are under pressure from Trump to bring about an end to the fighting, a key demand by Iran in parallel talks due this weekend in Pakistan.

WHO IS FIGHTING, AND WHY?

Israel intensified its air attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on March 2, three days into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. It has since widened a ground invasion into Lebanon's south, ordering hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to flee villages it views as Hezbollah strongholds.

At least 1,888 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, while at least two Israelis have been killed by Hezbollah rocket fire.

The current war followed a round of fighting in 2024 that saw the U.S. broker a deal aimed at disarming Hezbollah. Since then, Lebanon's government has ordered the army to establish a state monopoly on those arms, an effort Israel says has failed.

Hezbollah rejects calls to disarm, viewing its missiles and other weapons as an element of national defence against Israeli attacks. Following the 2024 deal, Israel continued to carry out strikes on what it said were Hezbollah depots and fighters.

HOW DID THE TALKS COME ABOUT?

A week into the current war, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun expressed willingness to begin direct negotiations with Israel to halt the fighting, even saying he was ready to move forward with normalizing relations.

Israel rebuffed that historic offer, deeming it too late from a government that shares its goal of disarming Hezbollah but cannot act against the group without risking a civil war.

Israel's position changed after the U.S. and Iran reached a deal on Tuesday to halt fighting. With Iran insisting that Israel cease fire on Lebanon ahead of talks in Pa...