Israeli journalist appears on Lebanese network

Lebanese broadcaster LBCI aired a rare interview with an Israeli journalist, with Channel 12 and Axios newsbreaker Barak Ravid appearing on the network to discuss efforts to end the fighting between Israel and the Shiite terrorists of Hezbollah.

Speaking in English, Ravid said negotiations were still underway and argued that Hezbollah’s reported rejection of the latest ceasefire proposal was likely intended to improve its position in the US-mediated talks.

Ravid’s appearance was highly unusual in Lebanon, where contact with Israelis is generally prohibited. 

He later said it was the first time an Israeli journalist had been interviewed on Lebanese television, though Jonathan Elkhoury, an Israeli-Lebanese Christian Arab, has also made appearances on Lebanese media. 

The talks center on a proposed arrangement that would halt Hezbollah attacks on Israel and push the terror group’s forces away from the border, while the Lebanese army gradually deploys in southern Lebanon under US oversight. 

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group whose charter calls for Israel’s elimination, opened fire on Israeli positions on October 8, 2023, saying it was acting in support of the Palestinians one day after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel.