The appeal came as Washington sought to advance direct diplomacy following two rounds of Lebanese-Israeli talks held this month in Washington, the first such high-level contacts in decades, after cross-border fighting involving Iran-backed Hezbollah escalated into a wider regional conflict in March.

President Donald Trump had announced a 10-day ceasefire beginning on April 17, later extending it by three weeks after the second round of discussions. He has said he hopes to host Aoun and Netanyahu “over the next couple of weeks” as both sides prepare for direct negotiations.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said Lebanon faced a decisive moment and called for leadership from Beirut to move toward a broader political settlement.

“Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future as a truly sovereign, independent nation,” the embassy said.

It added that a direct meeting between Aoun and Netanyahu, facilitated by Trump, could secure guarantees on sovereignty, territorial integrity, border security, reconstruction support and the restoration of Lebanese state authority across all its territory.

The proposal has exposed divisions inside Lebanon, where Hezbollah has rejected direct negotiations with Israel and opposed Beirut’s previous commitment to disarm the group, a longstanding demand from Western governments and Israel.

Aoun said on Wednesday that Israel must first fully implement the ceasefire before negotiations could meaningfully proceed.“Israeli attacks cannot continue as they are,” he said, adding that Lebanon was waiting for the United States to set a date for the start of direct negotiations.

Israeli forces have continued military operations despite the truce, maintaining troop activity inside what officials describe as a “Yellow Line,” a zone extending roughly 10 km into southern Lebanon along the border.Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on Thursday killed at least 17 people in the south, including five women and two children.

The Lebanese army said a separate strike killed one of its soldiers.Israel’s military also said one of its soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon.

Aoun on Thursday condemned what he called Israel’s “continuing violations” of the ceasefire, citing airstrikes, demolitions of homes and places of worship, and attacks on civilians and emergency personnel.

Speaking to a delegation from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, he called for international pressure on Israel to halt attacks on civilians, paramedics, civil defense teams and humanitarian workers.

Three Lebanese civil defense personnel killed in Israeli strikes were buried on Thursday.Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported multiple Israeli airstrikes across the south, while an Israeli military spokesperson issued evacuation warnings for more than 20 villages near the border.

Hezbollah said it carried out 10 attacks on Israeli military targets in southern Lebanon, including strikes on tanks and troop positions.In Beirut, dozens of residents from southern Lebanon and local officials gathered to protest what they described as the continued destruction of villages despite the ceasefire.

“We will not surrender and will not normalize,” protester Hanaa Ibrahim, 48, told AFP.The ceasefire text published by the U.S. State Department states that Israel retains the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks,” language Hezbollah says was never formally presented to Lebanon’s cabinet.

Aoun said on Wednesday that the wording matched the November 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended the previous war and that all parties had accepted it at the time.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, rejected that account, calling Aoun’s remarks “inaccurate, to say the least,” and disputing that the same terms had been accepted in the earlier agreement.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces had destroyed five bridges over the Litani River that were allegedly used by Hezbollah for moving fighters and weapons, adding that the military would control remaining crossings and maintain a security zone up to the river.

Katz also said displaced residents from southern Lebanon would not be allowed to return until security conditions improve for communities in northern Israel.

The announcement came as Lebanese authorities reported Israeli air strikes near Beirut and across the country. The health ministry said at least two people were killed and five wounded in a strike outside the capital.

Witnesses described heavy damage to residential buildings in Bshamoun, southeast of Beirut, with civilians reporting widespread destruction to homes and property.

Overnight strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, following Israeli evacuation warnings. An AFP photographer reported extensive damage in the Haret Hreik area, with debris and rubble covering streets.

Lebanon’s state news agency said Israeli strikes also hit southern regions and the Hermel area near the Syrian border, including fuel infrastructure linked by Israel to Hezbollah financing.

It reported that Israeli forces carried out a ground incursion into the southern border town of Halta, where one person was killed, another wounded, and a resident allegedly detained before troops withdrew.

Separately, Israeli shelling was reported near Qawzah, while a bridge connecting southern Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley was destroyed for a second time in two days.

Hezbollah said it had launched multiple attacks on Israeli forces and positions, including strikes targeting troops in southern Lebanon and sites in northern Israel.The latest escalation follows Hezbollah’s entry into the conflict earlier this month, when it began firing rockets into Israel.

Since then, Israeli operations across Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced over a million, according to Lebanese authorities.

The conflict continues to widen geographically, with sustained air strikes, ground operations, and retaliatory attacks raising concerns of a prolonged regional confrontation.