Israel is deliberately killing journalists and demolishing Lebanese villages while invoking ceasefire talks in Washington. An Israeli strike killed journalist Amal Khalil and then blocked rescuers from reaching her — not a military operation, but a blatant war crime. Any ceasefire extension that does not demand a full Israeli withdrawal and a halt to demolitions risks becoming cover for continued occupation and destruction on the ground.

The U.S. frames these talks as a push for peace, but its approach helped enable the escalation it now claims to resolve — backing Israel even as strikes in Lebanon killed hundreds of civilians and continued amid ceasefire dynamics. Washington's blind alignment with Israel has made conflicts easier to start and harder to contain, embedding the instability U.S. diplomacy now claims to fix and risking a cycle of repeated escalation that undercuts lasting peace.