Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold direct negotiations after their first high-level diplomatic meeting in more than three decades, the United States announced Tuesday following talks in Washington mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The two-hour meeting between Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad marked a diplomatic breakthrough between countries that have technically been at war since 1948 and maintain no formal diplomatic relations.
This is a historic opportunity. The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed.
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State — ABC News Australia
The announcement comes amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which began when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 in support of Iran during the broader US-Iran war. Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced over one million, while Israeli ground forces have invaded southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah opposed the talks and fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns as the Washington meeting began. The militant group's leader Naim Qassem had called for the negotiations to be scrapped and vowed to continue fighting.
France 24 frames the talks as a diplomatic breakthrough while maintaining balanced coverage of both sides' positions. French media emphasizes the multilateral diplomatic support from European allies, reflecting France's traditional role as a mediator in Middle Eastern conflicts and its historical ties to Lebanon.