Israel and Lebanon sent civilian envoys to a military committee monitoring their ceasefire, top officials from both said on Wednesday, in a move set to expand the scope of talks between the long-time foes for the first time.
The meeting was a step towards a months-old US demand that the two countries broaden talks beyond monitoring the 2024 ceasefire, in line with US President Donald Trump's agenda of peace agreements across the Middle East.
It came even as fears of a renewed flare-up between Israel and powerful Lebanese armed group Hezbollah persist.
Lebanon remains officially in a state of war with Israel, and criminalizes contacts with Israeli nationals. Meetings between civilian officials from the two sides have been extraordinarily rare throughout their fraught history.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said in recent months, however, that he is open to negotiations to pursue a more robust truce and he dispatched a civilian envoy on Wednesday for the first time.
Israel said it would send a representative in a bid to establish a relationship and economic cooperation with Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024 that ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Since then, they have traded accusations over violations.
'POSITIVE SIGNAL'
The committee, chaired by the US, met on Wednesday for approximately three hours on the Blue Line, which serves as the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.
Since it was established to monitor the 2024 truce, it has only been attended by military officers from Israel, Lebanon, the US and France, as well as United Nations peacekeepers.
Aoun's office said he appointed Simon Karam, a former ambassador to the US, to head Lebanon's delegation after the US told Beirut that Israel had also agreed "to include a non-military member" in its delegation at the meetings.
A statement issued after the session concluded said attendees welcomed the added envoys as an "important step" toward ensuring that the committee is "anchored in lasting civilian as well as military dialogue".
It said it was looking forward to working closely with the Lebanese and Israeli representatives to integrate their recommendations to nurture peace along the long-volatile border.
A Lebanese source familiar with Karam's appointment said Aoun had repeatedly signaled his openness to negotiations with Israel in recent months but had received no response.
"When the US passed on that the Israelis were appointing a civilian to the Mechanism, Lebanon took this as a positive signal from them and appointed one as well," the source said.
Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian, in an online briefing to reporters, said Wednesday's meeting was "a historic development".
"This direct meeting between Israel and Lebanon took place as a result of Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu's efforts to change the face of the Middle East. As the prime minister has said, there are unique opportunities to create peace with our neighbors," Bedrosian said.
Netanyahu had instructed Gil Reich, acting director of the National Security Council, a civilian governmental body, to send a delegate on his behalf.
"This is an initial attempt to establish a basis for a relationship and economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
A Lebanese security official briefed on the meeting said only that it was "positive" and declined to say whether the agenda, which typically only covers implementation of the truce, was broadened to include any political or economic matters.
FEARS OF ESCALATION
Hezbollah's media office did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters on the talks' expansion.
The Iran-backed group has repeatedly rejected any negotiations with Israel as a "trap".
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued air strikes on what it says are Hezbollah's efforts to rebuild its military capabilities in breach of the truce. Lebanon says Israel's bombardment and occupation of hilltop positions in South Lebanon amount to breaches.
Fears have been growing in Lebanon that Israel will expand its strikes to a full-blown military campaign after expressing frustration with the pace of Lebanese authorities' efforts to seize Hezbollah's weapons across the country.
