U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will join the American delegation for the next round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, CNN reported Wednesday, citing a State Department official.
According to the report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also expected to take part, along with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and State Department Counselor Michael Needham. Israel and Lebanon are again set to be represented by their ambassadors in Washington, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh Moawad. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday at the State Department.
The upcoming session would mark the second round of ambassador-level talks in two weeks, following a U.S.-hosted meeting on April 14, the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades. After that meeting, the State Department said the sides held “productive discussions” and agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and place.
The renewed diplomacy comes amid a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The tension was also reflected on the ground Tuesday evening, when air raid sirens sounded in northern border communities shortly before the start of Israel’s 78th Independence Day.
According to the IDF, a rocket was fired toward IDF forces in southern Lebanon and a drone was launched into Israeli territory, with the drone intercepted by air defenses. The military also said Golani Brigade troops killed terrorists who crossed the forward defense line near al-Qusayr and approached Israeli forces.