RARE PEACE TALK, COURTESY OF FRESH AIRSTRIKES

In a rare plot twist that feels almost diplomatic enough to make the coffee go cold, Israeli and Lebanese officials were set to hold direct talks in Washington — their first in-person meeting in decades — with Secretary of State Marco Rubio joining the mix, though nobody’s pretending this is about to magically end the war. The meeting is mostly preparatory, not breakthrough material, because Israel and Lebanon are still reading from very different scripts: Lebanon wants a cease-fire first, then negotiations, while Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a cease-fire altogether. And just to keep the mood exquisitely bleak, Israel reportedly launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon only hours before the talks were to begin.