Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire, US state department says

Israel and Lebanon have agreed a 45-day extension to a shaky ceasefire, following two days of negotiations in Washington DC, the US state department said.

"We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border," said state department spokesman Tommy Pigott.

US President Donald Trump announced the truce on 16 April, but Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire since then.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli air strikes had killed 22 people, including eight children, across the south.

The state department said it would "reconvene the political track of negotiations" in June.

"In addition, a security track will be launched at the Pentagon on May 29 with military delegations from both countries," Pigott added.

Israel's Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, said the talks were "frank and constructive".

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that he hoped to "mobilise all Arab and international support to bolster our position in the negotiations" with Israel.

There have been almost daily reports of Hezbollah and Israel trading fire across the southern border of Lebanon since the ceasefire began.

Israel has intensified its air and artillery strikes in recent days, particularly in southern Lebanon, saying it was targeting Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure.

Lebanon's health ministry has accused Israel of targeting civilians and paramedics, which Israel denies.

The Israeli military says it is aiming to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon to thwart future Hezbollah attacks.

In those areas, entire villages have been destroyed in similar tactics deployed by the Israeli military in Gaza. Human rights groups say some cases could amount to war crimes, which Israel denies.

Hezbollah has carried out its own attacks on Israeli troops in Lebanon and northern Israel with rockets and drones.

Southern Lebanon is the heartland of the country's Shia community, from which Hezbollah gets most of its support, and has been under constant Israeli bombardment.

More than one million people, amounting to one in five of the population, have been forced from their homes across Lebanon, most of them from the south, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahieh, areas where Hezbollah holds sway.

The conflict started on 2 March, two days after the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran.

Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, and Israel responded with widespread air strikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

At least 2,896 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, according to the health ministry.

Israeli authorities say 18 soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.