Meet Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon's US ambassador set to lead Israel talks

Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh is expected to lead the Lebanese delegation in talks with the Israeli side in Washington on Tuesday, the first such contact between the two parties in decades.

Beatrice Farhat

Apr 11, 2026

BEIRUT — Lebanon is preparing for historic direct talks with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, and its ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh, is expected to head the delegation.

Lebanon and Israel, which remain technically at war, last sat down for direct negotiations decades ago, during the Madrid Conference in 1991. Then, the Lebanese track was under Syrian authority, given Damascus' control over Lebanon after the civil war. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had instructed his government to “open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible” on the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah and the establishment of peaceful relations.

Netanyahu’s announcement came shortly after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Thursday that negotiations with Israel to end its attacks in Lebanon must solely be conducted by the Lebanese state in a jab at Iran and its proxy group, Hezbollah, which has been engaged in a devastating war with Israel since March 2.

Hamadeh advocates closer US-Lebanese ties

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun named Hamadeh as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States in June 2025 as part of diplomatic appointments that had been delayed since 2017 due to the successive political and economic crises in the country. She is the first female ambassador to represent Lebanon in Washington.

Hamadeh presented her credentials to President Donald Trump on Sept. 5, 2025, marking what was seen as a new chapter in the US-Lebanese relations, which had been rattled by Hezbollah’s growing influence in Lebanon.

In an interview with Lebanon's MTV on the day she submitted her credentials to Trump, Hamadeh expressed hope that she will be able to achieve “major changes in the US-Lebanese relations.”

“We have a historic opportunity in........

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