US Secretary of State says Israel-Lebanon peace deal is achievable but Hezbollah is a problem

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday (May 5) that peace between Israel and Lebanon was achievable but that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was a problem.

"By and large, I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is imminently achievable, and should be," Rubio told reporters at the White House.

"The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it's Hezbollah," he added.

Lebanon's government wants a permanent deal with U.S. ally Israel that would end a repeated cycle of Israeli invasions and strikes, while stopping short of saying it wants a peace agreement. Israel says any deal must permanently disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Israel intensified air attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on March 2, three days into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. ‌Israel, thereafter, widened a ground invasion into Lebanon's south.

Lebanon's health ministry says more ⁠than 2,600 ​people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, with over a million people being displaced. Israel says ​17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon while two civilians have been killed by Hezbollah attacks.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a fragile ceasefire in mid-April which has since been extended into May.

However, Israel has maintained an occupation of southern Lebanon and demolished villages there, while Hezbollah has continued attacks on Israeli forces.

Tehran says any deal to end the wider Iran war must also halt Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Washington says the issues are separate.

-Geraldine Downer, Bernat Parera/Reuters