BEIRUT — Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Friday that any negotiations with Israel to halt its ongoing strikes on southern Lebanon — which have continued despite a nearly year-old U.S.-brokered ceasefire — must be mutual.

Aoun made the remarks following talks with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who was on a four-day Middle East tour and visited Beirut on his first official trip since taking office.

The visit came as Israel has recently intensified its strikes on southern Lebanon. Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, which nominally ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war last November. The conflict started after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support

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