Overview
- President Joseph Aoun urged visiting UN Security Council diplomats to press Israel to implement the ceasefire and withdraw from five southern border positions, while pledging Lebanon’s adherence to international resolutions and support for the army’s role in Hezbollah disarmament.
- Civilian representatives from Lebanon and Israel met on December 3 at UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters for their first public, direct contact in over 40 years, with U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus taking part.
- Israel said the meeting took place in a positive atmosphere and that ideas for possible economic cooperation were floated, as it restated that Hezbollah’s disarmament remains a non‑negotiable security requirement.
- Lebanese leaders framed the process as focused on halting hostilities and securing a full Israeli withdrawal, rejecting any separate peace or early economic normalization.
- A day after the talks, Israel carried out new strikes in southern Lebanon targeting what it called Hezbollah sites in Jbaa and Mahrouna after warning residents to evacuate, with no immediate casualty figures reported, and UN diplomats plan to visit the south on Saturday with the U.S. envoy.