Israeli media: Netanyahu assigns former minister to manage Lebanese file during war
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tasked former Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer with following up on what is known as the Lebanese file, in light of the continued war.
Netanyahu has entrusted Dermer with the task of managing communications with the US administration and overseeing any possible negotiations with the Lebanese government in the coming period.
Dermer was known for his closeness to Netanyahu, whom he appointed in February 2025, as head of Israel’s negotiating team during indirect negotiations with Hamas and in charge of contacts with the Americans, instead of Mossad heads David Barnea and former Shin Bet chief Bar.
Dermer, who resigned on November 11, had held four rounds of negotiations on a security agreement with Damascus, but the talks stalled weeks ago after his resignation, according to the channel.
Dermer returned to intensive political activity during the past two weeks, following the US-Israeli war against Iran started on February 28, and expanded two days later to include Lebanon.
On the other hand, on Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for the start of direct negotiations with Israel under international auspices, as part of an initiative based on the establishment of a full truce that would stop all Israeli aggressions against Lebanon.
Aoun also stressed during his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the Baabda Presidential Palace in the capital Beirut earlier on Friday, that the best solution to end the current war is through direct negotiations.
He stressed that achieving peace cannot be achieved unilaterally, but requires corresponding steps from Israel.
Israel responded to a US request not to bomb the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, as part of the contacts between the two sides on the conduct of military operations.
According to US official, Israel had also pledged not to target a number of critical civilian infrastructure facilities in Lebanon.
Israeli officials, denied making a comprehensive pledge in this regard, stressing that each case will be discussed separately with the US side.
Israel had issued an explicit threat to Lebanon through Western countries and with US mediation, to target government infrastructure, if Hezbollah wasn’t curbed.
The threat followed a rocket barrage fired by Hezbollah that included about 100 rockets at a time on Haifa, the Galilee and other areas in northern Israel, as part of its response to the Israeli war.
