JERUSALEM / BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

Lebanon and Israel will send civilian-led delegations to the upcoming meeting of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism in Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, a rare move that signals a shift toward broader political and technical engagement in managing post-war arrangements.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that his government will send a representative to a meeting involving Lebanese governmental and economic officials.

Netanyahu said he instructed the acting director of Israel’s National Security Council “to send a representative on his behalf to a meeting with government-economic elements in Lebanon.”

“This is an initial attempt to establish a basis for a relationship and economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement added.

Israeli Channel 12 described the announcement as “unusual.”

Netanyahu’s statement came hours after Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said Tel Aviv was preparing for a potential military escalation if the security situation in Lebanon deteriorates amid what it described as Hezbollah’s growing capabilities.

The Lebanese presidency also said that former ambassador and lawyer Simon Karam was appointed to lead Beirut’s delegation to the meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee created under the Nov. 27, 2024 deal with Israel.

Presidential spokeswoman Najat Charafeddine said President Joseph Aoun made the decision after consultations with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and in coordination with the US, which chairs the committee.

She said Washington informed Beirut that Israel agreed to add a non-military representative to its delegation.

The committee includes Lebanon, Israel, France, the US and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL.)

Aoun previously said negotiations with Israel were necessary to resolve outstanding issues.

In August, Lebanon’s government moved to disarm Hezbollah under US and Israeli pressure, though the group rejected a plan to bring all weapons under state control and demanded an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Israel has killed 335 people and wounded 973 others in 1,038 attacks since the ceasefire agreement came into effect in November 2024, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon this January under the ceasefire, but instead only partially pulled out and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.