Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun has declined to speak with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Lebanese official said. This follows after US president Donald Trump suggested the two leaders were set to hold historic talks.“We told America we aren’t ready to take that step,” an official was quoted as saying by CNN.Officials in Lebanon have told Israel and the United States that they will not pursue further negotiations until a ceasefire is reached between Lebanon and Hezbollah.Earlier on Thursday, Israeli officials said Netanyahu and Aoun were expected to hold talks, following the first direct discussions between Israel and Lebanon in over four decades in Washington, DC, this week.Trump also said the two leaders would speak in a social media post, without providing details on the format or timing of the communication.Israel and Lebanon held their first direct talks in over 40 years this week in Washington, DC, but fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued despite the negotiations.Earlier in the day, the Israeli military demolished the final crossing over the Litani River, which bisects Lebanon, cutting off tens of thousands of residents in the south from vital aid routes, according to Lebanese state media.Israeli forces carried out “two consecutive airstrikes” on the Qasmiyeh Bridge linking the coastal city of Sidon to the southern city of Tyre, “completely destroying it,” the Lebanese National News Agency reported.Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it “engaged in direct fire clashes” with Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon near Qantara town on Thursday morning, according to a statement posted on Telegram, as cited by CNN.
