JERUSALEM: 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.
Israel-Lebanon talks are expected to start next week in Washington to boost tentative ceasefire in Iran war, AP reported citing sources.
However, a Hezbollah lawmaker reiterated his group's rejection of any direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
"We reiterate our rejection of any direct negotiations between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, and the necessity of upholding national principles, foremost among them the Israeli withdrawal, the cessation of hostilities, and the return of residents to their villages and towns," Ali Fayyad said in a statement shared by the Iran-backed group's media channels.
Fayyad added that the group called "on the Lebanese government to adhere to the ceasefire as a precondition before proceeding with any further steps".
A Lebanese government official with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Thursday that the country could only enter negotiations after a ceasefire was announced.
Israeli media outlets reported that Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, would represent the country in the talks, which would take place "under fire," meaning without Israel halting its strikes in Lebanon.
The statement came a 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 300 people dead according to authorities.
Netanyahu's statement also followed calls on Wednesday with President Trump and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, according to US publication Axios.
Senior US officials said Witkoff asked Netanyahu to "calm down" the strikes in Lebanon and open negotiations.
The publication quoted a senior Israeli official who said the direct negotiations will begin next week in Washington.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had renewed a call last month for a truce and the opening of negotiations to stop the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
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 last year to disarming 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.
The efforts for negotiations come after Lebanon's health ministry said on Thursday that Israeli strikes across the country a day before killed more than 300 people and wounded at least 1,150.
In a statement, the ministry said "the Israeli enemy's airstrikes yesterday, Wednesday, resulted in a preliminary toll of 303 martyrs and 1,150 wounded", adding that the cumulative toll since the start of the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2 rose to 1,888 dead and 6,092 wounded.
It warned the death toll could rise further as search efforts were ongoing, as well as DNA testing of bodies transferred to hospitals.
(With inputs from AFP, AP)