US: ‘Significant progress’ made toward Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon

Washington — The United States is close to securing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, according to officials from the White House and the State Department.

Speaking to reporters during a press call on Monday, national security spokesperson John Kirby described recent talks in Beirut led by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein as "constructive," adding, "We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction."

In New York on Monday, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said negotiations toward a ceasefire, aimed at ending the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia, are "moving forward" but have not been “finalized."

He added that Israel would retain the ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement.

Ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting, Danon said he expected Israel's Cabinet to convene on Monday or Tuesday to discuss the cease-fire deal.

“We will make sure that we will have the ability to neutralize any threat that will not be dealt [with] in southern Lebanon. I hope that the Lebanese army will take care of that in the future, but if they will fail, again, we will be there,” Danon said.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's deputy speaker, Elias Bou Saab, said there are no major obstacles to implementing a U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal, which requires Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troop deployment within 60 days.

A five-nation committee, chaired by the United States and including France, will oversee the process, according to Bou Saab.

At the State Department, officials declined to comment on the details and terms of the ceasefire proposal but acknowledged that “significant progress” has been made toward an agreement.

“We don't believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we're close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly. But there are still steps that we need to see taken,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a briefing on Monday, without specifying what those steps are.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in attacks that followed Israeli warnings for people to leave the area.

The Israeli military said in its warning that Hezbollah militants were operating in Haret Hreik, and a short time later at least two strikes sent heavy smoke rising into the sky.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the strikes targeted Hezbollah military command headquarters.

The attack came a day after Hezbollah militants fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel in response to an Israeli attack on Beirut that killed at least 29 people.

Some of the Hezbollah strikes reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel and wounded seven people. The assault was one of the largest Hezbollah has mounted since it started firing on Israel more than a year ago in support of Hamas militants, who attacked Israel in October 2023 and have been warring with Israel in Gaza since then.

The fighting has caused a humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands.

On Monday, the United Nations World Food Program announced that it has provided emergency aid to more than a half-million people in Lebanon since the conflict began. The WFP said it plans to reach 1 million people and is continuing to work tirelessly to deliver critical assistance to affected communities.

But Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, dampened hopes for a halt to the fighting.

“I am not convinced it is going to happen,” Borrell told reporters Sunday evening after a day of meeting with Lebanese officials. “I do not see the Israeli government interested clearly in reaching an agreement for a cease-fire.”

Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the current war in Gaza. Israel says it believes Hamas is still holding 101 hostages, including 35 the military says are dead.

Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed at least 44,235 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terror groups by the United States, the United Kingdom and other Western countries.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.