Lebanon president calls for negotiations with Israel

BEIRUT - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for negotiations with Israel on Monday, after US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire in Gaza.

The United States brokered a truce in November between Lebanon and Israel following more than a year of conflict sparked by the war in Gaza.

Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah's domestic rivals to disarm the militant group.

Hezbollah has said it would be a serious misstep even to discuss disarmament while Israel is continuing airstrikes on Lebanon and occupying swaths of territory in southern Lebanon.

But Israel has kept striking Hezbollah targets, but s over 100 civilians have been killed since the US-brokered truce, according to the United Nation.

"The Lebanese state has previously negotiated with Israel under American and United Nations auspices, resulting in an agreement to demarcate the maritime border... so what prevents the same thing from happening again to find solutions to the outstanding issues," Aoun said according to a presidency statement.

"Today, the general atmosphere is one of compromise, and it is necessary to negotiate," he said.

Aoun stressed that the form of this negotiation will be determined in due time and that Lebanon cannot be outside the current path in the region, which is the path of crisis resolution.