Israel wants 'more serious' talks with Lebanon: PM's spokesman

Israel wants new and more ambitious US-brokered talks with Lebanon after carrying out deadly strikes targeting Hezbollah, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

Doron Spielman told AFP the strikes should "jumpstart the talks" rather than derail them. The comments come as Lebanon prepares for a fresh round of negotiations with Israel.

What does Israel want from talks with Lebanon?

Netanyahu's spokesman Doron Spielman said the Israeli strikes against Hezbollah "should jumpstart the talks and make them much more serious, not do the opposite."

He added that the negotiations would likely move forward because "the enemy here is clear and the enemy is Hezbollah." Israel says it remains committed to a US-brokered agreement calling for Lebanon's security forces to gradually remove Hezbollah from the country.

Why did Israel carry out the strikes on Hezbollah?

Israel said it carried out the strikes after Hezbollah attacked inside what Israel calls a security zone in southern Lebanon, seriously injuring three Israeli soldiers, according to Netanyahu's office.

Spielman said Israel remains committed to the US-brokered agreement, which calls for Lebanon's fledgling security forces to take gradual control and remove Hezbollah, a Shia movement backed by Iran that has long played a central role in Lebanese politics.

"We believe in the agreement. We very much hope that the Lebanese Armed Forces are going to be able to step into the foray, and together we're going to remove Hezbollah from the picture," Spielman said.

What happened in the strike on Hezbollah's Radwan force?

Israel said it targeted a headquarters of Hezbollah's elite Radwan force, killing commander Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan. It acknowledged that Hassan's family members were present during the strike and said they were not the intended target. Lebanese authorities said nine people were killed, including several children, in the strike on Asnar, along with four more people killed in a separate strike.