Israel says wants 'more serious' talks with Lebanon

Israel desires more serious and ambitious U.S.-brokered negotiations with Lebanon, according to a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The government stated that recent deadly strikes targeting Hezbollah should serve to "jumpstart" and intensify these talks, rather than hinder them.

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The Israeli strikes against Hezbollah should jumpstart the talks and make them much more serious, not do the opposite.

Doron Spielman, Netanyahu's spokesman, told AFP that the enemy is clearly Hezbollah and expressed hope that the strikes would advance the negotiations. Israel asserts that its military actions were a direct response to Hezbollah launching attacks inside what Israel designates as a security zone in southern Lebanon. Three Israeli soldiers sustained serious injuries in these attacks, according to Netanyahu's office.

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And I think it will. It will hopefully move these talks along because the enemy here is clear and the enemy is Hezbollah.

Spielman affirmed Israel's commitment to a U.S.-brokered agreement that outlines the gradual assumption of control by Lebanon's security forces and the removal of Hezbollah. He expressed a strong hope that the Lebanese Armed Forces would step in to help "remove Hezbollah from the picture." Israel reported that its forces attacked a command center of Hezbollah's elite Radwan force, killing commander Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan. The Israeli military acknowledged that Hassan's family members were present during the strike and stated they were not the intended targets. Lebanese authorities reported nine fatalities in the Ansar strike, including several children, and four additional deaths in a separate strike.

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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.