Lebanon: Lebanese president says meeting with Israel's Netanyahu not appropriate now.

RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "LEBANESE PRESIDENCY" HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY SHOTLIST: BEIRUT, LEBANON (MAY 4, 2026) (LEBANESE PRESIDENCY — RESTRICTED) 1. VARIOUS OF LEBANESE PRESIDENT JOSEPH AOUN RECEIVING GROUP OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AT BAABDA PALACE IN BEIRUTBEIRUT, LEBANON — MAY 4, 2026 — RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "LEBANESE PRESIDENCY" HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that timing is not appropriate for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that "there is no turning back from the negotiation path." Aoun said: "There is no turning back on the path of negotiations (direct with Israel) because we have no other option," according to a statement from the Lebanese Presidency. "The objectives set in any negotiation process are based on Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories and the return of prisoners; all these are rights that Lebanon has been demanding for years. "The timing is not right now for a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, as we must first reach a security agreement and stop the Israeli attacks on us before we raise the issue of a meeting between us," Aoun said. Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since 1948 and held two rounds of talks in Washington on April 14 and April 23 in preparation for peace negotiations. Since March 2, Israel has waged a deadly offensive on Lebanon that has killed nearly 2,700 people, wounded 8,264, and displaced more than 1.6 million—about one-fifth of the population—according to official figures. A 10-day ceasefire that began April 17 was later extended until May 17, but Israel continues to violate it daily through airstrikes and the demolition of homes in southern Lebanon.