A ceasefire deal to end the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia was close Monday but not yet completed, three senior Biden administration officials told NBC News.
One official said that “a few issues still need to be resolved,” while another warned that a deal “could still take a few days.”
White House national security adviser John Kirby called the discussions “productive.”
“But nothing will be done until everything is done, and that is not yet the case,” he said during a briefing on Monday.
The potential development comes amid a continuation of heavy attacks from both sides. The Israeli military said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 20 people in the Lebanese capital Beirut last weekend, while Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets into Israel, setting neighborhoods ablaze. More Israeli airstrikes on the outskirts of Beirut followed.
Residents hug each other at the site of a rocket attack on Sunday in Rinatya, Israel.
The latest clashes follow months of intensified fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, with Hezbollah firing rockets and other projectiles at Israel after Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, 2023, which ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are both linked to Iran.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday that ceasefire talks were making progress.
“We haven’t finalized it yet, but we’re moving forward,” he said.
The ceasefire would be limited to Lebanon, meaning it would not bring relief to the Palestinians in Gaza or the dozens of hostages held by Hamas.
In a statement, the hostages’ families said they “strongly insist” that any agreement include a demand for the release of those held.
“The October 7 attack, orchestrated by Hamas and supported by Iran, brought Hezbollah into the conflict, tying its fate to the war in Gaza and the atrocities of the October 7 massacre,” the statement said in part.
“The current efforts to reach an agreement ending the war on the Northern Front provide a crucial opportunity to bring all hostages home. The Northern Front and the release of the hostages are inextricably linked – we cannot and must not treat them as separate issues.”
Miriam al-Shami, whose husband and mother-in-law were killed, weeps as her destroyed home once stood at the site of an Israeli airstrike Saturday in Beirut’s Basta district.
Israel’s ground and air campaign in Lebanon has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced more than 1 million others, according to local officials. The attacks extend to parts of Syria, where a recent Israeli airstrike killed a senior Hezbollah commander.
Talks of a possible ceasefire come about a month after Israel attacked Iran on its own soil, raising fears that Iran would retaliate and dramatically escalate tensions in the region. However, the Iranian military subsequently downplayed the attack, saying the damage was limited.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
