Lebanon and Israel may enter historic negotiations

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has called for historic direct talks with longtime foe Israel since war erupted a month ago - a month in which Israel's military has forced more than a million Lebanese to flee, levelled parts of Beirut and triggered sectarian friction, Report informs via Reuters.

Now that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally answered the call to talk peace, Lebanon is in its weakest position to deliver it, experts said.

Armed group Hezbollah, which is locked in clashes with Israeli troops in south Lebanon, is opposed to direct negotiations - throwing into question whether it would abide by any ceasefire agreed by the state.

"The talks that will take place between Lebanon and Israel are frankly pointless, because those conducting them in the name of Lebanon have no leverage to negotiate," a Lebanese official close to the group told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Israel launched intensified air attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel on March 2, three days into the US-Israeli war on Iran. It has since widened a ground offensive.

Shi'ite Muslims, the community from which Hezbollah draws its support and which has borne the brunt of Israel's strikes, have told Reuters they have little faith in a state they see as failing to defend them.