Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar. Photo: Collected

JERUSALEM, April 22, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday urged Beirut to make joint efforts with Israel to counter the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, ahead of talks between the countries set to resume in Washington.

"Tomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington DC. I call on the government of Lebanon -- let's work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory," Gideon Saar said in a speech to diplomats at a function marking Israel's 78th Independence Day.

"This cooperation is needed by you even more than by us. It requires moral clarity and the courage to take risks. But there is no real alternative for ensuring a future of peace for you and for us."

Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official told AFP.

Israel conducted huge airstrikes across Lebanon and invaded the south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran on March 2.

Despite a truce which began on Friday, Israeli soldiers are still active in south Lebanon, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying last week they would use "full force" if threatened.

Under the truce terms, Israel says it reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military said its troops killed two "terrorists who violated the ceasefire understandings" in the area of Saluki in southern Lebanon a day earlier.

The pair had "crossed the forward defence line and approached soldiers, posing an immediate threat", the military said, adding that its air force later struck and eliminated them.

An Israeli airstrike also killed one person and wounded two in Lebanon's Bekaa region on Wednesday, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.

The Israeli military has established a so-called "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon near the border, where its forces are operating despite the ceasefire.

On Tuesday, it said Hezbollah launched rockets towards soldiers stationed in south Lebanon and that the military struck the launcher in response.

It also said it had intercepted a drone fired from Lebanon before it crossed into Israeli territory.

Hezbollah said it had launched an attack on northern Israel in retaliation for what it said were Israeli ceasefire violations, the first such claim since the truce began.

Saar, in his speech on Wednesday, reiterated that Israel does not have any "serious disagreements" with Lebanon.

"Unfortunately, Lebanon is a failed state, a state that is de facto under Iranian occupation through Hezbollah," he said.

"The obstacle to peace and normalisation between the (two) countries is one -- Hezbollah."