WASHINGTON: US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon that were slated to end Thursday will go on for another day, the State Department said. It said this fifth round discussions that began this week will resume Friday morning. “Israel and Lebanon talks remain ongoing as we continue to facilitate,” the department said in a statement. These talks come amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, an offshoot of the Mideast war that the United States and Iran are negotiating to bring to a definitive end.

Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a key condition in its ongoing negotiations with the US.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says the US-backed round could be decisive but insists Beirut will accept nothing less than the end of Israel’s presence in southern Lebanon, while…