A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that the Israeli government approved on Thursday a historic agreement to demarcate the maritime border with Lebanon, brokered by the United States.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun earlier signed a letter approving the agreement, which will be formally signed later on Thursday.
Lebanon's chief negotiator, Elias Bou Saab, told reporters on Thursday that Lebanese President Michel Aoun had signed a letter approving a historic US-brokered agreement delineating his country's maritime border with Israel.
The agreement represents a diplomatic departure from decades of hostility and a potential opening for energy exploration in the maritime borders.
Speaking from the presidential palace, Elias Bou Saab said the signing of the letter represented a "new era" and that the letter would be delivered to US officials at a border point in the far south of Lebanon in Naqoura later on Thursday.
The three parties hailed the agreement as a historic achievement. The agreement will be signed separately in Jerusalem by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid after his government's approval.
In response to a question about what would happen if either side violated those still at war, US envoy Amos Hochstein said the United States would remain a guarantor to help resolve any disputes.
"If one side violates the agreement, both sides lose," Hochstein told reporters.
The agreement is an unprecedented settlement between the two enemy countries, opens the way for energy exploration at sea, defuses one of the potential sources of conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, and could ease the economic crisis in Lebanon.
And the discovery of energy resources in the sea, although not sufficient on its own to solve Lebanon's deep economic problems, would be a huge boon as it would provide much-needed hard currency and might one day ease the stifling power cuts.
Source: Reuters