Ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah looks imminent, officials say

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah looked set to reach a ceasefire deal on Tuesday, Israeli and Lebanese officials said, clearing the way for an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war 14 months ago.

A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic that a deal could be reached, cooling a second front for Israel’s military that is also battling the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Israel’s security cabinet is expected to convene later on Tuesday to likely approve a text at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior Israeli official said.

This would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, four senior Lebanese sources told Reuters on Monday.

At a conference in Rome, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib expressed hope that a deal to end the deadliest spillover from the Gaza war could be sealed by Tuesday night.

The agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region - a Hezbollah stronghold - within 60 days, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.

Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.

Israel demands effective U.N. enforcement of an eventual ceasefire with Lebanon and will show “zero tolerance” toward any infraction, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

The agreement with Lebanon will maintain Israel’s freedom of operation there to act in defence to remove threats posed by Hezbollah and enable displaced residents to return safely to their homes in northern Israel, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told Reuters.

Signs of a diplomatic breakthrough have been accompanied by a military escalation. Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday demolished more of Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, while the armed group has kept up rocket fire into Israel.

The U.N. rights chief voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas in Gaza, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.

‘THE MISSILES ARE CHASING US’

Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since going on the offensive against the group in September, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and pounding areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway.

“Regarding the ceasefire, I think it will be implemented. Both sides are tired - both sides are tired,“ said Selim Ayoub, a 37-year-old mechanic from Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Hezbollah launched some 250 rockets on Sunday in one of its heaviest barrages yet. The northern Israeli city of Nahariya came under more rocket fire overnight.

Diplomacy to end the fighting has focused on restoring a ceasefire based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on Monday that Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement.

Lebanon has previously objected to Israel being granted such a right, and Lebanese officials have said such language is not included in the draft proposal.

Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel has a side agreement with the U.S. allowing it to take action in Lebanon against “imminent threats.”

Hezbollah, seen as a terrorist group by Washington, has endorsed its ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate.

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed in Lebanon and over one million have been forced from their homes, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

The widespread destruction left by Israeli airstrikes has brought into focus a huge reconstruction bill awaiting cash-strapped Lebanon, with many left homeless heading into winter.

Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.

A ceasefire would pave the way for 60,000 people to return to homes in northern Israel, which they evacuated as Hezbollah began firing rockets in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas a day after that group’s Oct. 7, 2023 assault.