Israel conducting normalisation with Lebanon, says senior official

The two countries began an exchange of tit-for-tat attacks across the border for months until Israel launched a series of devastating blows against the group’s senior leadership, culminating in the killing of its chief, Hassan Nasrallah, in September 2024, before ultimately launching a ground invasion.

Tuesday’s meeting was military to military, but the next meeting will be between political representatives from the two countries, the official said. “This means official Israeli diplomacy within Lebanon.”

As a gesture of goodwill, Israel released five Lebanese prisoners yesterday. This was so that the country’s new president, Joseph Aoun, could show civilians that he is able to deliver for Lebanon without the need for destructive military conflict, according to the Israeli official.

“I am coming and trying the diplomatic way and I am bringing achievements,” he said, paraphrasing what Israel hopes Aoun is presenting to the Lebanese people.

If Israel and Lebanon reach an agreement on borders — a matter which has long been a source of tension — Hezbollah could be seriously undermined.

The militant group has long-justifed its fighting by citing Israel’s occupation of Lebanon. “If a deal on the border is done, Hezbollah’s alibi will be gone,” Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, told the New York Times. “It will pull the rug out from under them.”