Following the White House announcement of a framework agreement between Jerusalem and Beirut, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, has come under attack from Hezbollah. Alongside riots by supporters of the terrorist organization and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem's declaration that the agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel has no validity, social media posts sharply criticizing Moawad have proliferated.
One post featured a cartoon by Yemeni artist Kamal Sharaf, a supporter of the Houthis and the Iranian-led Shiite axis. The cartoon depicts the "Lebanese authorities," in the form of a figure resembling Moawad, embracing an Israeli whose hands are dripping with blood. The accompanying caption reads: "The traitor Nada Hamadeh Moawad, ambassador of the traitors in Lebanon and to her people, [President] Joseph Aoun and [Prime Minister] Nawaf Salam, embraces the Zionist entity [Israel]."
On April 11, when the Lebanese government announced the first trilateral talks between Israel and Lebanon under US mediation, Moawad's name emerged as a possible representative for the Lebanese delegation. At the conclusion of one round of negotiations on April 14, she thanked the United States for its assistance, called for a ceasefire, the return of displaced Lebanese residents to their homes, practical steps to ease Lebanon's severe humanitarian crisis and full implementation of the 2024 ceasefire agreement. She also emphasized Lebanon's full sovereignty over all of its territory.
On April 24, following a White House meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese negotiating teams and President Donald Trump, Moawad said: "We presented our position, namely the need to stop Israeli violations and the destruction of villages in southern Lebanon. President Trump promised us his support for Lebanon."
The moment of signing the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel
(Video: Reuters)
Moawad continued to participate in the negotiations and remained a key member of the Lebanese delegation even after Lebanese diplomat Simon Karam, who was previously selected to head the ceasefire monitoring mechanism committee for southern Lebanon, was appointed chief negotiator. She nevertheless remained a central figure in the talks. After the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel was signed in Washington, she said: "The framework agreement is a first step toward restoring Lebanon's sovereignty."
Leading direct negotiations with Israel as a Lebanese official is no small matter. Hezbollah supporters oppose any such direct engagement and continue to issue threats, while Lebanese law broadly prohibits contact with Israelis. Rawan Osman, a Lebanese social activist who grew up in Lebanon and now advocates on Israel's behalf, praised Moawad's courage in a Facebook post yesterday.
Negotiation meeting between the Lebanese Ambassador and the Israeli Ambassador to the US
(Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
"I want to commend the Lebanese Ambassador, Nada Hamadeh, personally," Osman wrote. "She negotiated under pressure, under threat, with Hezbollah supporters breathing down her neck and the shadow of Tehran’s criminal Mullah regime looming over every word. She did it anyway."
Osman added: "Ambassador Leiter himself acknowledged it at the ceremony, calling her 'a very tough negotiator' and saying: 'You fight like a lioness, Madame Ambassador.' He was right."
Nada Hamadeh Moawad. 'You fight like a lioness, Madame Ambassador'
(Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP)
According to reports, Moawad brought more than 20 years of diplomatic and financial experience to the negotiations, including work with major international institutions and the private sector. A source familiar with the matter said this "gives her an exceptional ability to manage complex issues related to crises and public policy."
One Lebanese report described her time at the World Bank Group as a cornerstone of her career. It noted that she holds a master's degree in finance from George Washington University and also studied business administration at the American University of Beirut. She is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Spanish, a skill set described as enhancing her diplomatic capabilities on the international stage.
Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar wrote that her "contribution to managing international partnerships in the areas of food security and the cost-of-living crisis has been significant" and that she worked to address "the effects of global inflation and rising poverty rates."