Hezbollah’s new leader said on Wednesday the embattled Lebanese movement could agree to a ceasefire under certain conditions, as Israeli forces expand bombardment of the group’s strongholds. Naim Qassim’s statement came as Israel’s security cabinet met to discuss a possible ceasefire, but also as Israel attacked the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and said it had killed another senior Hezbollah commander.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he was “cautiously optimistic” about a ceasefire in the “coming hours or days”.
Speaking to broadcaster al-Jadeed, Mikati said US envoy Amos Hochstein had suggested that “perhaps we can reach a ceasefire in the coming days, before November 5, when the US elections will be held.”
Qassim became the leader of the Iran-backed armed movement on Tuesday, after his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a major airstrike by Israel last month.
In his first speech after taking power, he said that Hezbollah could continue to resist Israeli air and ground attacks in Lebanon for months.
But he also opened the door to a negotiated ceasefire if an Israeli proposal is presented.
He said, “If the Israelis decide they want to stop aggression, we say we accept, but under conditions that we consider fair and appropriate.”
Qassim, however, said Hezbollah had not yet received any credible proposal.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said the country’s security cabinet was meeting to discuss what conditions it could offer to ensure a ceasefire.
“Discussions are ongoing, I think it will still take time,” Cohen, a former intelligence minister, told Israeli public radio.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met ministers late Tuesday to discuss Israel’s demands in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, according to Israel’s Channel 12.
These include that Hezbollah withdraw north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 mi) from the Israeli border, and that Lebanese state forces deploy along the border.
‘Take forceful action’
An international intervention mechanism would be established to enforce the ceasefire, but Israel would seek guarantees that it would maintain freedom of action in case of threats.
President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk and Hochstein were visiting Israel on Wednesday to seek progress on deals to end both the Gaza and Lebanon wars, the US State Department said.
“They are traveling to Israel to discuss issues including a diplomatic solution in Lebanon as well as how to end the conflict in Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
On the ground, explosions rocked the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, with Israel’s military warning residents soon after that it would take “vigorous action against Hezbollah’s interests within your cities and villages”.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 19 people were killed in Israeli attacks on two neighborhoods in the Baalbek region.
The Israeli military said it attacked Hezbollah’s “command and control centers and terrorist infrastructure” in the areas of Baalbek and Nabatiyeh.
Separately, Lebanon’s health ministry said 11 people were killed and 15 wounded in Israeli strikes on the town of Sohmor in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones at three military targets in northern Israel, including Haifa and Acre.
It later said it fired rockets at a military training camp southeast of Tel Aviv.
The war in Lebanon began late last month, almost a year after Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border firing into Israel in support of Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
At least 1,754 people have been killed in Lebanon in the war since September 23, according to an AFP tabulation of health ministry figures, although the actual number is likely higher.
Israel’s military says it has lost 37 soldiers in Lebanon since the ground campaign began on September 30.
Short term ceasefire?
In Gaza, there were more deadly attacks on Wednesday as international mediators prepared to offer a short-term ceasefire to free hostages and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
News of a possible breakthrough in ceasefire talks comes a day after an Israeli attack on a residential block in Gaza killed nearly 100 people and sparked international outrage.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been trying to negotiate a ceasefire for months.
Israel’s Mossad spy chief David Barnia, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani held the latest round of secret talks in Doha on Sunday and Monday.
On Wednesday, a source close to the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity that senior officials discussed a proposal for a “short-term” ceasefire of “less than a month”.
The proposal would include the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians in Israeli prisons and increased aid to Gaza.
“US officials believe that if a short-term agreement can be reached, it could lead to a more permanent agreement,” the source said.
A Hamas official said the group would discuss any ideas for a Gaza ceasefire that include Israeli withdrawal, but no comprehensive proposal has been officially received.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told troops to continue pressure “to create the necessary conditions to ensure the return of the hostages.”
The attack on Tuesday collapsed a building in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza district, killing at least 93 people, including several children, according to the region’s civil protection agency.
UN chief Antonio Guterres was “deeply shocked” by the attack, his spokesman said.
US State Department spokesman Miller, meanwhile, said Israel was “not doing enough to get the response we have demanded” over the attack.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s response led to the deaths of 43,163 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom were civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, figures the United Nations considers credible.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
