Lebanon has officially been at war with Israel since 1948, making direct negotiations taboo until recently when two wars between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah exhausted the country.

With Lebanon's leaders facing difficult decisions, where do Aoun and Hezbollah stand, and what lies ahead for the country?

- What does Aoun want? -

A Lebanese official source told AFP on Tuesday that Aoun "is proceeding with the option of negotiations... there is no going back".

The president on April 17, the day a truce in the war went into force, said all Lebanese were "on the same boat" and that no one should commit the "crime" of sinking it.

The president on Monday stated that direct negotiations aimed at stopping the war, securing an Israeli withdrawal from the south, demarcating the border and reaching an end to the "state of hostility" with Israel.

In a jab at Hezbollah, which accused the government of "surrender", Aoun rejected criticism of the talks saying that those who drew Lebanon into the conflict were the ones committing "treason".

"The president saying Hezbollah is committing treason is certainly unprecedented language," Heiko Wimmen, researcher at the International Crisis Group told AFP.

US President Donald Trump said he hoped to host a "historic" meeting between Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Beirut committed to disarming Hezbollah last year.

Wimmen said that while Aoun and the government can negotiate with Israel, they "cannot make commitments in these negotiations that (they) can deliver".

Experts and politicians in Lebanon fear causing a rift in Lebanon's army, which once split along sectarian lines in 1976 during Lebanon's civil war, should they face Hezbollah militarily.

There are also concerns over the army's lack of capabilities to disarm the group.

The truce terms state that "with international support", Lebanon "will take meaningful steps to prevent Hezbollah... from carrying out any attacks... against Israeli targets", without specifying the type of support.

- Where does Hezbollah stand? -

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned on Monday that direct talks may lead to a "spiral of instability", adding that his group will deal with them "as if they do not exist... and they do not concern us in the slightest".

The group also refuses to disarm, openly challenging the Lebanese government with officials and supporters leading a campaign against Aoun.

Before a damaging 2024 war with Israel, Hezbollah was a dominant political power in Lebanon.

"Hezbollah has become more than ever isolated on the political scene," researcher and Hezbollah expert Joseph Daher said, as he says its support base in multiconfessional Lebanon is now largely restricted to its Shia community.

"The key issue is they do not want a peace agreement," he added, saying that the group "will pressure, in the media, and maybe do demonstrations".

Former Hezbollah lawmaker Nawaf Moussawi in a recent interview reminded Aoun of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981 over "treason" for signing a peace treaty with Israel.

- What lies ahead for Lebanon? -

With both sides entrenched in their positions, Nicholas Blanford, an analyst at the Atlantic Council, told AFP there are "two polar opposite visions of where the country needs to go".

"I don't think either side really has the capability of imposing their vision on the other," he added.

"Hezbollah is not as influential and politically strong as it was before, but the state is still fundamentally fairly weak."

The division caused by this issue is evident within Lebanon.

Across eastern Beirut, an area outside of Hezbollah's influence, billboards bearing Aoun's image have been raised reading "the decision is Lebanon's".

Meanwhile, on Beirut's airport road, graffiti read "no to normalisation" and "Aoun is a traitor, Nawaf is a turncoat", referring to the country's prime minister.

Blanford said the group may resort to some "street action down the road" like in 2008 when Hezbollah used its weapons against political opponents after the Lebanese government moved to shut down its independent communications network.

The decision was later repealed.

Blanford believes the government will be "more resolute" this time, and will not back down from negotiations.

Israel, which has repeatedly bombed Lebanon since the truce meanwhile expressed eagerness for a "historic peace" with Lebanon.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Monday that Hezbollah was "playing with fire" and that Aoun was "gambling with the future of Lebanon".

Terms of the truce allow Israel to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks" by Hezbollah.