WASHINGTON, D.C. — Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold direct ambassador-level ceasefire talks in Washington, D.C., the first such negotiations in decades. The two countries have been in a state of war since Israel's establishment in 1948 and have never held direct negotiations before.

The agreement to negotiate came as military operations intensified. President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull back Israeli operations in Lebanon, and a person briefed on the matter said Israel had agreed to reduce its military activity in Lebanon as part of the ceasefire arrangement.

Netanyahu struck a different tone in a public message to Israeli citizens. "There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are still striking Hezbollah with great force. And we won't stop until we restore your security." Shortly after his message, the Israeli military launched fresh strikes on Lebanon.

By Wednesday afternoon, Israel had launched its largest and most destructive attack on Lebanon in years. Dozens of Israeli warplanes dropped bombs on 100 targets across Lebanon within ten minutes. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah command centers in an operation called "Eternal Darkness."

The bombardment of Beirut included strikes in densely populated civilian neighborhoods. The strikes killed at least 300 people and wounded more than 1,100. Lebanon's civil defense service said that additional strikes had killed at least 254 people and injured 1,165. Israeli forces also destroyed the last remaining bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country.

Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi posted on Twitter: "The U.S. must choose – ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both." Iranian leaders have threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire if the United States does not restrain Israel. Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in an address on state television: "We did not seek war and we do not want it. But we will not renounce our legitimate rights under any circumstances, and in this respect, we consider the entire resistance front as a whole."

A Hezbollah representative said the group rejects direct talks with Israel. Lebanon's government does not have control over Hezbollah, which holds a small number of seats in the Lebanese government. Communities on the Israeli side of the border have also been hit by Hezbollah rockets.