Photo for illustration only. (Photo: Getty Images/AFP)
On Thursday, the US sought to extend the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held the first of two days of talks at the US State Department in Washington DC.
“We had a full day of productive and positive discussions,” said a senior US official. A Lebanese official says that the country will pursue “the consolidation of the ceasefire”.
“The first thing is to put an end to the death and destruction.”
The ceasefire expires on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said strikes were carried out on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday. A drone belonging to the terrorist group also fell in Israeli territory and wounded several civilians, the Israeli army announced.
While peace talks were going on, pres. Donald Trump of the USA will also meet with China’s Xi Jinping on Thursday.
In a television interview with Fox News Sean Hannity said China offered help to open the Strait of Hormuz during the meeting. Trump also indicated that China had pledged not to send some of its military aid to assist Iran in its war against the US and Israel.
“He (Jinping) said he was not going to give military equipment … he made that clear,” Trump told Hannity.
Iranian media reported on Thursday that naval forces had allowed a group of Chinese ships to sail through the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the previous evening.
“Following a decision by the Islamic Republic, a number of Chinese ships have been allowed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian managed transit protocols,” the Tasnim-news agency report.