In a historic diplomatic development, the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington held their first phone conversation on Friday evening, marking the first official contact between the two countries since 1983.
The Lebanese presidency announced that Nada Hamadeh Moawad, Lebanon's ambassador to the United States, spoke with Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador, at 9 p.m. Beirut time. Michel Issa, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, participated in the exchange, which was mediated by the State Department.
"On the basis of the initiative launched by President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun, which is focused on diplomatic efforts toward the announcement of a cease-fire and the start of direct negotiations with Israel, the U.S. administration has decided to task the State Department with playing a mediating role between Lebanon and Israel," the presidency said in a statement.
The two sides agreed to hold an initial meeting next Tuesday at the U.S. State Department headquarters "to discuss the announcement of a ceasefire and the date for launching negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American auspices."
The diplomatic breakthrough comes after a day of deadly Israeli strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon, and follows statements from Tel Aviv and Washington indicating that Lebanon would not be involved in cease-fire negotiations with Tehran. By early Thursday evening, Israel reversed course and agreed to enter direct negotiations with Lebanon.
According to Firas Maksad, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa region at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, a cease-fire is a key Iranian demand for negotiations with the U.S. to continue. "Washington is quietly pressing Netanyahu to wind down operations against Hezbollah to keep the diplomatic track with Tehran on course," Maksad wrote on social media.
The Israeli prime minister is likely to comply, Maksad added, calculating that "a pause helps preserve his relationship with Trump while not precluding his military objectives in Lebanon." The Israeli military is expected to complete a 7–10 km buffer zone within days, pushing Hezbollah anti-tank missile capabilities out of range.
However, Maksad cautioned that any pause would not necessarily mean a full stop to Israeli strikes. "More likely: a 'hot cease-fire' where Israel significantly scales back operations but continues periodic strikes against Hezbollah targets," he wrote. "Think of it as a return to pre-March 2 status ante."
The diplomatic framing will be crucial. Washington and Jerusalem are keen to present the cease-fire not as a concession to Iran, but as support for the Lebanese state, especially after Beirut's decision to dismantle Hezbollah's military and security apparatus.
To reinforce this point, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Washington on Thursday, signaling U.S. intent to lock in the cease-fire via Beirut, not Tehran, and to set the stage for further Israel-Lebanon negotiations.
In this region, today's headline is yesterday's history repeating. The last time Lebanon and Israel engaged in direct contact was during the failed 1983 agreement, which collapsed under Syrian and internal Lebanese opposition. Four decades later, both countries find themselves at another crossroads, with American mediation once again attempting to bridge a seemingly unbridgeable divide.
