A growing rift between top Lebanese officials has thrown a wrench into Saudi efforts to help Lebanon¡¯s leaders forge a united position over historic negotiations with Israel, Lebanese sources and foreign officials said on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia, which sponsored the 1990 agreement that ended Lebanon¡¯s 15-year civil war, has deepened its engagement in recent days with Lebanon, where a shaky U.S.-brokered ceasefire has failed to fully halt the nearly two-month war between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Ties between Riyadh and Beirut had been strained ?for years due to Hezbollah¡¯s power over Lebanese politics and security, but the Sunni kingdom sees an opening after the group was severely weakened by war ?with Israel ?in 2024.