Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem advised Lebanon to withdraw from direct talks with Israel, which were scheduled to take place in Washington D.C. These negotiations represented a rare effort to establish a framework between the two nations.

The leader of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group urged Lebanon on Monday to pull out of direct talks with Israel set to take place in Washington the following day, the first such talks in decades. Naim Kassem spoke in a televised address on the eve of the scheduled meeting between Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the United States, as both sides set a framework for negotiations. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.