A second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon is scheduled for Thursday in Washington, DC, according to both an Israeli official and an official from the US State Department, writes CNN.

The first meeting between officials from the two countries took place last Tuesday, with Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh attending the talks. The talks will again be at the ambassador level, the officials said.

The office of Lebanon`s president said earlier today that the country`s delegation will be led by Simon Karam, a former Lebanese ambassdor to the United States.

"The objective of the negotiation option is to halt hostile actions, end the Israeli occupation of southern areas, and deploy the army up to the internationally recognized southern borders", President Joseph Aoun said. He added that US President Donald Trump had "intervened with Israel for a ceasefire and to prepare to launch a negotiations track".

The State Department official said that the US "welcomes the productive engagement that began on April 14," adding that "we will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments".

Prior to last week’s talks, Israel and Lebanon had not held direct talks in decades.