Israel and Lebanon hold first direct talks since 1993.

Lebanon and Israel have held their first direct diplomatic talks in more than three decades, in a rare meeting aimed at ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group.

The US State Department announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to initiate direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and place, following a meeting in Washington today.

The State Department "expressed hope" that talks between Israel and Lebanon "will lead to a peace agreement."

Israel and Lebanon today concluded their first direct diplomatic talks in Washington, hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"This is about permanently ending 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah influence in this part of the world and not only the damage it has done to Israel, but the damage it has done to the Lebanese people," Rubio said.

According to a statement from the US State Department, Israel has reaffirmed its commitment to working with Lebanon to "disarm" non-state "terrorist" groups and their infrastructure, Reuters reports.

Lebanon also called for a ceasefire and measures to address the humanitarian crisis, it said. Israel also "expressed its commitment" to direct negotiations to "resolve outstanding issues."

The two countries do not have diplomatic relations, and the last direct high-level talks between them were held in 1993.

Since the beginning of March, in addition to more than 2.000 deaths, about a million people have been displaced in the conflict since the latest hostilities began.