Lebanese president refuses to speak to Israeli prime minister

Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on a village in Lebanon (Hussein Malla/AP)

The president of Lebanon has refused to speak with the Israeli prime minister ahead of a planned discussion that would have been the first direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years, a government official told the Associated Press.

US President Donald Trump had announced that the leaders would speak about halting the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.