Lebanese president heads to Washington to meet Trump, discuss Israeli withdrawal

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun left Beirut for Washington, DC, on Saturday, where he is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump, the Lebanese Presidency said.

Aoun will hold talks with several US officials to discuss the situation in Lebanon and efforts to solidify the ceasefire with Israel, the presidency said in a post on US social media company X.

The discussions will also address efforts to "secure Israel's withdrawal from the Lebanese territories it occupies, and extend the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country," the Lebanese officials added.

The visit comes after the sixth round of US-sponsored Lebanese-Israeli negotiations concluded Wednesday in Rome.

Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-mediated framework agreement on June 26, which provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory, beginning with a pilot model in two zones that have not been publicly identified.

The agreement does not set a timetable for the withdrawal, linking its completion to the Lebanese army assuming full security responsibility in the evacuated areas and the disarmament of armed groups, in reference to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 people and wounded 12,200 since March 2, according to official Lebanese figures.