Israel 'close' to ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, as 31 people killed in Lebanon

26 Nov 2024, 06:51 by AFP, https://www.thejournal.ie/author/afp/ · TheJournal.ie

ISRAEL’S SECURITY COUNCIL is preparing to decide whether to accept a proposed ceasefire in its war with Hezbollah, an official said, as the White House announced it believed a deal to end the fighting in Lebanon is near.

The United States, European Union and United Nations have all pushed in recent days for a truce in the long-running hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which flared into all-out war in late September.

With truce talk intensifying, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least 31 people on Monday, mostly in the south.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official told AFP the security cabinet “will decide on Tuesday evening on the ceasefire deal”.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby expressed optimism over the prospects for a truce, but said talks were ongoing.

“We believe we’ve reached this point where we’re close,” he told reporters, adding “we’re not there yet”.

The United States has repeatedly voiced optimism over talks on reaching a truce in the Gaza war this year but Israel is still fighting Hamas militants there even as it battles on the second front in Lebanon.

France, which alongside Washington has spearheaded efforts towards a Lebanon truce, Monday reported “significant progress” in ceasefire talks. The French presidency urged Israel and Hezbollah to “seize this opportunity”.

Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group of nations, voiced “optimism” about a Lebanon ceasefire.

The US news site Axios had previously reported the parties were nearing an agreement that would involve a 60-day transition period in which the Israeli army would pull back, the Lebanese army would redeploy near the border and Iran-backed Hezbollah would withdraw its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.

The draft agreement also provides for the establishment of a US-led committee to oversee implementation, as well as US assurances that Israel can take action against imminent threats if the Lebanese military does not, according to Axios.

News of the security cabinet meeting came as the Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes on Monday, including on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has repeatedly bombed since late September when it escalated its air campaign in Lebanon.

The latest strikes hit around two dozen Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in one hour, the military said. A statement said “command centres, and intelligence control and collection centres, where Hezbollah commanders and operatives were located”, were targeted.

The strikes followed intense Hezbollah fire over the weekend, including some attacks deep into Israel.

Strikes

Recent days have seen rising calls to end the fighting in Lebanon, with a senior UN official on Monday urging “the parties to accept a ceasefire”.

In Beirut on Sunday, top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate truce, days after US envoy Amos Hochstein said a deal was “within our grasp”.