48 Hours Before Tampa... What Will Lebanon Extract from Israel?

Attention is turning to the anticipated tripartite meeting in the US city of Tampa on Tuesday, October 20, where Lebanon seeks, through a military delegation, to extract concrete Israeli steps including a halt to escalation and a withdrawal, amid continued military operations in the south and stalled implementation of previous understandings. President Joseph Aoun confirmed the participation of the delegation carrying the demand to stop the Israeli escalation and to seek results consistent with the "Framework Agreement" reached under US auspices on June 26. The core sticking point is the sequencing of steps: Lebanon demands an end to attacks and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel links any progress to security arrangements concerning Hezbollah's weapons, with key files including the future of military deployment in the south as UNIFIL's mission nears its end, and the Israeli election on October 27.