Israel, Lebanon agree to direct negotiations, US State Department confirms

The US Department of State announced that an agreement has been reached to begin direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon following trilateral discussions involving the parties.

“The U.S. Department of State convened a trilateral meeting on April 14, 2026, with the participation of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Counselor Michael Needham, United States Ambassador to Lebanon Issa, Ambassador of Israel to the United States Yechiel Leiter, the Ambassador of Lebanon to the United States Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

This meeting marked the first major high-level engagement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon since 1993. The participants held productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon,” the department’s statement read.

The US administration added that all sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.

By Jeyhun Aghazada