Lebanon's president departs for Washington to meet Trump

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Beirut on Saturday for Washington, where he is expected to meet Donald Trump, his office said.

The trip follows the latest round of Lebanon-Israel talks, which wrapped up this week in Rome. It marks the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since 2009.

Why is Lebanon's president visiting Washington?

Aoun will hold discussions with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire, particularly in the south, the presidency said.

Talks will also cover Israel's withdrawal from the Lebanese regions it occupies. The visit comes as Lebanon and Israel work through a US-brokered framework aimed at ending hostilities permanently.

When did a Lebanese president last visit Washington?

It will be the first trip to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009. Israel and Lebanon, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, began US-sponsored negotiations in April aimed at reaching a peace deal and permanently ending the Israel-Hezbollah war. On June 26, they reached a framework agreement in Washington under which the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army is to deploy, starting with two pilot zones.

What did Israel and Lebanon agree on in Rome?

The agreement is contingent on the disarmament of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which has flatly rejected the deal and the broader Israel-Lebanon negotiations. Following the latest round of talks this week in Rome, Israel and Lebanon agreed on the structure and guidelines for implementing the pilot zones, a US official said. A Lebanese military source told AFP that the army had begun intensifying patrols in several villages adjacent to areas occupied by Israeli forces, including Froun in Bint Jbeil district, in preparation for the pilot zones provision.

Hezbollah held a rally in the coastal city of Tyre on Saturday to reiterate its rejection of the plan. Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, when it began striking Israel in support of its backer Tehran. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion, and despite a ceasefire, it continues sporadic attacks and holds territory in the south in what it describes as a security zone.

What is happening on the ground in southern Lebanon?

On Saturday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported fresh airstrikes against two towns on the edge of the security zone, in the Tyre and Nabatieh regions, along with a large detonation near the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah. The Lebanese military said a soldier was killed as a result of the explosion of a suspicious object in an army vehicle in Mansouri, which was also subjected to several Israeli strikes. The US embassy renewed its call for Americans not to travel to Lebanon, citing high tensions in the Middle East.