An Israeli position (front) next to a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base (background), on the Lebanese side of the UN-demarcated Blue Line, as seen from Alma Al-Shaab on November 28, 2025. ANWAR AMRO / AFP
Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades on Wednesday, December 3, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, under a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism in the war with Hezbollah.
The two sides met at the UN peacekeeping force's headquarters in Lebanon's Naqura near the border with Israel, as part of a mechanism to oversee the ceasefire that took hold in November 2024. Until now Israel and Lebanon, which have no formal diplomatic relations, had insisted on keeping military officers in the role.
"Today's meeting in Lebanon is an initial attempt to establish a basis for a relationship and economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon. This is a historic development," Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Netanyahu, said. "This is the first step to paving a path with Lebanon and it's clear the Lebanese recognize the economic challenges they are facing," she told reporters during a briefing.
The US embassy in Beirut said in a statement that Morgan Ortagus, the US special envoy for Lebanon, also attended Wednesday's meeting. The United States has been piling pressure on Lebanon to rapidly disarm Hezbollah.
