The seventh round of direct, US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome was suspended on Wednesday afternoon, several hours before its scheduled conclusion. A US State Department official confirmed that the session ended at 15:30 local time and would reconvene on Thursday morning. A Lebanese diplomatic source told CNN Arabic that the American delegation had requested the pause “to conduct its own consultations,” while all sides indicated that the negotiations were expected to resume the following day.

Conflicting explanations emerged for the early halt. The US official attributed the suspension to “developments on the ground,” a formulation echoed by a Lebanese official who linked the pause to the security situation in southern Lebanon. An Israeli diplomatic source, however, told Al-Monitor that Ambassador Yechiel Leiter had asked the American side to suspend the talks roughly three hours before their planned end, citing “repeated misleading leaks by the Lebanese delegation.” The nature of those alleged leaks was not specified.

Despite the interruption, Washington described the discussions as “extremely productive.” The State Department official said the talks had focused on a range of political and military issues and that technical teams had made progress in determining key details for implementing the trilateral framework agreement signed by the United States, Israel, and Lebanon in June. According to Israel’s Channel 12, the current round was assessing the effectiveness of two pilot-zone projects under which Israeli forces withdraw to allow the Lebanese army to enter, and exploring the possibility of expanding the programme to additional locations in southern Lebanon.

The diplomatic pause coincided with a sharp rise in military activity. The Israeli military ordered residents of the southern Lebanese village of al-Mansouri to evacuate, citing what it called a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire by Hezbollah, and subsequently carried out airstrikes in the area. Hebrew-language media also reported, without official confirmation, that two Israeli soldiers had been killed and seven wounded in southern Lebanon. Separately, Ynet reported that activists from a far-right group had crossed the border illegally into Lebanese territory.

A Lebanese diplomatic source cautioned that “important developments on the ground” could yet prevent the resumption of the sensitive technical negotiations, though contacts were under way to calm the situation. The US State Department had previously indicated that the round, which began on Tuesday, was scheduled to run through Thursday. The talks are part of a broader American effort to secure a lasting ceasefire and restore Lebanese state authority along the border with Israel.