Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on Nov. 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP, Getty Images via TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Israel is potentially days away from a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. said, following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by a senior envoy for the outgoing Biden administration.
“We are close to a deal,” Michael Herzog told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday, adding that some final points still needed to be addressed. “It could happen within days.”
There have been similar predictions by other Israeli and U.S. officials in recent weeks and it remains unclear if Hezbollah would accept a deal. The Iran-backed group has been severely weakened after two months of increased Israeli sabotage, air strikes and ground incursions in southern Lebanon. But it’s still able to fire rockets into Israel on a daily basis and put up some resistance against Israeli ground forces.
On Sunday, Hezbollah fired at least 250 rockets and drones into Israel, wounding several people, and the Israeli air force struck targets in Lebanon.
In Israel, a far-right coalition member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, came out against the proposed truce, saying it would be an “historic missed opportunity” to crush the Iran-backed group. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still looks able to secure cabinet support.
The two sides have been in conflict since Hezbollah began striking Israeli territory in October last year in solidarity with Hamas. Both Hezbollah and Hamas — which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza with its attack on southern Israel — are deemed terrorist organizations by the U.S. and many other countries.
Amos Hochstein, a White House envoy for the Middle East, was in Lebanon and Israel last week to try to clinch a ceasefire before President Joe Biden hands over to Donald Trump in January. Another U.S. envoy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Shapiro, has been in Israel for what local media said were talks on future security arrangements in Lebanon.
According to Army Radio, once Netanyahu’s security cabinet signs off on a truce, Washington will take it to Beirut, where government officials have been serving as intermediaries for Hezbollah. Last week, one of Hezbollah’s main political allies, Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, said there was progress but there were still “technical details” to resolve.
The U.S.-drafted proposal entails an initial 60-day suspension of hostilities during which Hezbollah fighters would move north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) away from the Israeli border.
Israel also wants the Lebanese army, which is separate from Hezbollah, to deploy in the south of Lebanon, beefing up a contingent of United Nations peacekeepers and helping to ensure the militant group doesn’t operate there.
The Israeli government wants the right to resume strikes in Lebanon in the event of infractions by Hezbollah. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah have pushed back at that demand.
Around 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes and the ground offensive in the past two months, while 1.2 million — more than a fifth of the population — have been displaced. About 50 Israeli troops have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced from both sides of the Israel- Lebanon border. Netanyahu’s cabinet has made enabling the return of northern Israelis to their homes a priority, something that can’t happen without an end to fighting with Hezbollah.
Talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire in Gaza have stalled for months. Though the conflicts are connected, there’s little sign a deal over Lebanon would increase the chances of a truce in Gaza.
Hezbollah initially said it wouldn’t stop attacking Israel until there was a cease-fire in Gaza, but has softened its position as it suffered military losses.
“Hezbollah folded on this demand, due to the heavy drubbing it took,” Zeev Elkin, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, said to Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM.
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