BEIRUT

Lebanon and Israel are set to begin a second round of rare direct talks in Washington on Thursday, focused on extending the fragile truce between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, as well as laying the groundwork for broader future negotiations between the longtime adversaries.

The meeting between Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and her Israeli counterpart, Yechiel Leiter, comes just days after the two diplomats held their first direct talks in three decades.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that discussions are ongoing to extend the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which took effect last Friday.

According to comments released by Aoun’s office, Hamadeh will propose an extension of the ceasefire during the Washington meeting and will call for an end to ongoing Israeli home demolitions in border villages and towns occupied by Israel since the latest war broke out on March 2.

Preparations are also underway for more comprehensive negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. Aoun said the goal of future talks is to “fully” halt Israeli attacks, secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory, free Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, deploy Lebanese troops along the border, and begin the reconstruction process.

By James Kisoo