Israel and Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations following talks in Washington on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had hailed as a "historic opportunity" for peace.

The two countries have technically been at war for decades, and Tuesday's talks were vehemently opposed by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which said it fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns just as the meeting was getting underway.

Washington is pressing for an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, fearing it could unravel the fragile two-week ceasefire in its own war with Iran, after earlier talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed to produce a breakthrough.

Lebanon was drawn into the broader war when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Iran, its key ally, triggering an Israeli ground invasion and strikes that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than a million.

Tuesday's meeting in Washington – the first high-level, direct talks since 1993 – was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.

"This is a historic opportunity," Rubio said as he welcomed the ambassadors, acknowledging the "decades of history" complicating the process.

"The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hoped the talks would "mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people."

A State Department spokesperson said afterwards that discussions were "productive," adding: "All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue."

Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two sides "had a wonderful exchange."

"We discovered today that we're on the same side," he told reporters, saying both countries were "united in liberating Lebanon" from Hezbollah.

In a statement of her own, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called the meeting "constructive," but said she had also called for a ceasefire and insisted on "the full sovereignty of the state over all Lebanese land," among other issues.

Israel is occupying parts of southern Lebanon and has resisted any pause in fighting that leaves Hezbollah intact, arguing that the group remains the central obstacle to peace.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country was seeking "peace and normalisation" with the Lebanese state, but said Hezbollah was the key problem and "needs to be addressed."

Before the meeting, Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem had called for the negotiations to be scrapped and vowed to fight on.

Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Britain and France, urged both countries to seize the chance to bring lasting security to the region. (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong