Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks Wednesday in decades, part of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism in the war with Hezbollah, a source close to the talks told AFP.

The meeting was taking place at the U.N. peacekeeping force's headquarters in Lebanon Naqoura near the border with Israel, the source said, as part of a mechanism to oversee the ceasefire that took hold in November 2024.

Lebanon announced on Wednesday that it would appoint a civilian to lead its delegation to the body overseeing the ceasefire with Israel, after a request from the United States.

Until now Lebanon, which does not recognize Israel, had insisted on keeping a military officer in the role.

Pope Leo XIV called for an end to hostilities in Lebanon and said the Middle East needed new approaches for peace as he finished a three-day trip to the country by urging an end to divisions.

In a Beirut square that was once a physical embodiment of Lebanon's sectarian rifts, Christian and Muslim leaders united around Pope Leo XIV on Monday as he urged them to work for peace in their divided nation.

Pope Leo XIV got a rockstar welcome from thousands of Lebanese youth on Monday, bringing them a message of hope on the second day of his visit to the crisis-hit country.

U.S. President Donald Trump summoned his top national security officials to the Oval Office on Monday to discuss Venezuela, as his counterpart Nicolas Maduro rejected a "slave's peace" amid mounting fears of American military action.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the Trump administration's controversial proposal to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Israel to avoid destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces killed 13 people.

Pope Leo XIV prayed for peace in Lebanon and the region on Monday as he kicked off day two of his trip to the multi-confessional country with a visit to a famous pilgrimage site.

U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed he had recently spoken with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called U.S. preparations for an attack.