Lebanon, Israel and the United States have agreed to extend the current ceasefire for 45 days following two days of negotiations in Washington, the latest in a series of US-mediated talks that began in April and produced the first direct Lebanon-Israel contacts in decades.
Friday's agreement comes as Washington pushes parallel political and security tracks, with another meeting scheduled for 2 and 3 June and US-facilitated military coordination expected to begin at the Pentagon later this month.
In a statement issued after the talks at the US State Department, the Lebanese delegation said the extension would allow for the launch of a US-facilitated "security track" beginning on 29 May, while helping preserve political momentum achieved in recent days.
The delegation described the talks as having produced "tangible diplomatic progress in Lebanon's favour", adding that the extension would provide "a necessary margin of stability" while opening "a political pathway towards lasting calm and stability".
Under the agreement, the United States will facilitate and strengthen communication and military coordination channels between Lebanon and Israel, including through meetings expected to begin at the Pentagon later this month.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, also struck an optimistic tone following the talks.
"Concluding two days of negotiations with Lebanese and American officials, I’m looking forward to the next steps," Leiter wrote on X. "There will be ups and downs, but the potential for success is great," he said, while stressing that Israeli "security" would remain paramount.
The Lebanese delegation said restoring full Lebanese sovereignty remained its "highest priority", including re-establishing state authority across all Lebanese territory and ensuring border security through state institutions, "foremost among them the Lebanese army".
It also stressed the importance of securing the return of displaced civilians to southern Lebanon, reconstruction efforts, and the release of Lebanese detainees alongside the recovery of remains.
Lebanon further insisted on a phased and independently verifiable implementation mechanism backed by US guarantees, arguing such safeguards were necessary to avoid the failures of previous arrangements.
The negotiations come amid continued tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border despite months of international mediation aimed at preventing a wider regional war, with reports of continued strikes and rocket fire keeping the truce fragile.
The talks also come amid continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have killed more than 2,800 people, mostly civilians, despite a ceasefire agreed in mid-April.
Hezbollah, which triggered the current war on 2 March, has rejected all direct talks with Israel and dismissed their outcome as illegitimate.
The group insists on indirect non-political talks focused solely on securing a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. However, the current Lebanese government, backed by the United States, was pursuing a programme to disarm Hezbollah.
On Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the country had endured enough "reckless" wars fought for foreign interests, calling for Arab and international support for Beirut's negotiations with Israel.
Speaking at an NGO dinner shortly after the talks concluded, Salam said he hoped to "mobilise all Arab and international support to bolster our position in the negotiations" with Israel.
In an implicit rebuke to Hezbollah, Salam said Lebanon had "enough of these reckless adventures serving foreign projects or interests" and that the Lebanese military should be the only armed force in the country. With agencies