The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan says Israel and Hezbollah have accepted his offer of mediation to try to secure the release of two captured Israeli soldiers.
Speaking from Saudi Arabia, Mr Annan says he will appoint a negotiator.
The soldiers' abduction in a cross-border raid from Lebanon sparked off 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that ended in a truce last month.
The fighting killed more than 1,300 people, mostly Lebanese civilians.
