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

The meeting was ‘underway,’ the source said. It was being held at the UN peacekeeping force’s headquarters in Naqoura in Lebanon, near the border with Israel, the source added.

Morgan Ortagus, the US special representative for Lebanon, was present at the talks, the source said.

Lebanon is being represented by former ambassador to the US Simon Karam. According to the MTV Lebanese news site, the Israeli official slated to take part in the talks was Uri Resnick of the National Security Council.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the premier instructed Gil Reich, acting head of the National Security Council, to send a representative to Lebanon to meet with government and economic officials, calling it ‘an initial attempt to create a basis for a relationship and economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon.’…”