US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Beirut on Tuesday that the end of the Israel-Hezbollah war is “now within our reach” as he met officials to discuss a ceasefire plan largely backed by Lebanon.
The United States and France have led efforts for a ceasefire in the war, which escalated in late September after nearly a year of deadly firing between Hezbollah and Israeli troops.
Israel shifted the focus of its operations from Gaza to Lebanon, and vowed to secure its northern border to allow thousands of people displaced by the cross-border fire to return home.
Authorities have said more than 3,544 people have been killed in Lebanon in the clashes that began with Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
According to the United Nations, most of the deaths have occurred since late September, including more than 200 children.
After meeting with Hezbollah-allied Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation on behalf of the group, Hochstein told reporters he saw “a real opportunity” to end the fighting.
“I am here in Beirut to facilitate that decision, but it is ultimately the parties’ decision… It is within our understanding now.”
Berri told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat after the meeting that “the situation is good in principle”, adding that his team and the US representatives still had to settle “some technical details”.
Hochstein also met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army chief of staff Joseph Aoun.
A Lebanon-based diplomat, requesting anonymity, said there had been “progress” in the talks.
A Lebanese official said on Monday the government had a “very positive outlook” on the ceasefire plan.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would continue military operations against Hezbollah even if there is a ceasefire.
“We will be forced to ensure our security in (Israel’s) north and systematically campaign against Hezbollah’s attacks…even after the ceasefire”, he told parliament, to prevent the group from rebuilding. Could.
Deaths in Lebanon, Israel
Hezbollah launched cross-border attacks in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian group attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.
The Hamas attack killed 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war had reached 43,972 people, the majority of whom are civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Of the 251 hostages captured during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza, 34 of whom have been killed according to the Israeli military.
Netanyahu in a video on Tuesday showed himself inside Gaza wearing a flak jacket and helmet and offered a $5 million reward for anyone “who brings out the hostage” in the area.
Since expanding its campaign into Lebanon in September, Israel has launched widespread bombing campaigns primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds.
The United Nations said Tuesday that more than 200 children have been killed in Lebanon since Israel stepped up its campaign.
James Elder, spokesman for the UN children’s agency, said, “Despite more than 200 children being killed in Lebanon in less than two months, a worrying pattern has emerged: their deaths are driven by the inertia of those best able to stop this violence. Are.”
Israel has also sent ground troops to southern Lebanon, where it said on Tuesday one soldier was killed and three were wounded in the fighting.
The Lebanese army said three soldiers were killed when Israel attacked their positions in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.
Hezbollah continues to launch rockets, drones, and missiles at Israel almost daily.
On Tuesday, Israel’s military said about 40 shells were fired into central and northern Israel, lightly injuring four people.
This followed Monday’s shooting in Shafaram, which left a woman dead and 10 people injured there and five people injured in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had launched “a volley of missiles” at the Gillot military intelligence base in the Tel Aviv suburbs.
It said it also attacked Israeli troops in four locations in south Lebanon, including the city of Khiyam.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) later said that four Ghanaian peacekeepers were injured when a rocket, “possibly fired by non-state actors”, fell on their base.
Another base in Shamma “was hit by five rockets”, UNIFIL said, and elsewhere “an armed man fired directly at a patrol”.
It did not report injuries or specify who was behind the incidents.
The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of firing on the peacekeepers.
‘Everyone’s interest’
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006, “we believe is in everyone’s interest”. .
Under the proposal, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces deployed to southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has influence.
A Lebanese official said US Ambassador Lisa Johnson had discussed the ceasefire plan with Mikati and Berri last week.
If an agreement is reached, he said, the United States and France would issue a joint statement, followed by a 60-day ceasefire, during which Lebanon would deploy troops to the south.
However, Eyal Pinko, a retired Israeli navy commander and senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said hopes for a quick ceasefire were “wishful thinking”.
“The most important thing is that there will be no Hezbollah within 30 to 40 kilometers (20 to 25 miles) of the border so that Israel can defend itself if there is a ground maneuver,” Pinko said.
“Iran and Hezbollah will not accept this.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
