Israel and Lebanon sent civilian envoys to a military committee monitoring their ceasefire, top officials from both said on Wednesday, in a move set to expand the scope of talks between the long-time foes for the first time.

Lebanon’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, despite a move toward direct negotiations between the two countries aimed at defusing tensions.

Capobres, who is Catholic and has worked in Lebanon for 17 years, met Leo on Monday, alongside priests and other church volunteers on his first overseas trip as pope, in which he called on the Middle East's leaders to reject the horror of war.

Pope Leourged political leaders in Lebanon on Sunday to make peace their highest priority in a forceful appeal in a country that remains a target of Israeli airstrikes on the second leg of his first overseas trip as Catholic leader.

The Lebanese prime minister defended the decision to send Simon Karam to the talks.

The U.S. government is reportedly asking Lebanon to turn over an unexploded bomb in Beirut out of fear that it could fall into the hands of Russia or China. The munition in question, an unexploded GBU-39 small-diameter bomb,

Lebanon proved that it can still deliver when the stakes are high. Every element of the papal visit—from security to operations to inspiring innovation—demonstrated a capacity that much of the world assumed Lebanon had lost.