Israel and Lebanon appear to be close to a ceasefire agreement. The Israeli cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss this, Israeli and US officials say.
A 60-day ceasefire is proposed to end fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
It is said to include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and an end to Hezbollah’s presence in the area.
“We believe we have reached this point where we are close,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council. But he added: “We’re not there yet.”
The US and France – a long-time ally of Lebanon – have been involved in the search for a ceasefire.
It is often said that the darkest hour is before dawn. There has been an intensification of the firefight between Israel and Hezbollah just as the two sides negotiate the final details of the deal.
About 250 projectiles were fired into Israel from Lebanon on Sunday, most of which were intercepted, as the Israeli Air Force continued to carry out airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah positions and weapons caches in Beirut and elsewhere.
The deal would include an expansion of the Lebanese army’s presence in the area vacated by Israel and Hezbollah, according to a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have agreed to the deal “in principle” and Lebanese Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, quoted by Reuters, said there were now “no serious obstacles” to a ceasefire.
One major sticking point – who would oversee the ceasefire – had been resolved, he said, with the creation of a five-nation commission, including France as a member and chaired by the US.
Also the fact that Israel has upheld the agreement is Israel’s right to return to Lebanon and take whatever military action it deems necessary if it believes that Hezbollah is withdrawing to southern Lebanon, south of the Litani river, or is preparing to launch an attack on Israel.
This freedom of movement was unpalatable to both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, but Amos Hochstein, the US envoy, reportedly made it clear during his travels between the two countries that there was a time limit to this ceasefire.
Concerns about how a ceasefire would be enforced appear to have been allayed given the relative weakness of both the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) and the Lebanese Army.
But then there is the domestic Israeli factor. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has taken to social media to express his opposition to a ceasefire agreement, calling it “a serious mistake.” He said that now, with Hezbollah militarily in the background, it is “a historic opportunity” to destroy the country.
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Hostilities began on October 8 last year, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza.
Israel’s goal in its war against Hezbollah – which intensified in September – is to allow the return of some 60,000 residents displaced from communities in northern Israel due to the group’s attacks.
At that point, it launched a major offensive against the militia, destroying much of its infrastructure and weapons, and killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other high-ranking figures.
Lebanese authorities have said any ceasefire must be limited to the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The resolution includes the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and weapons in areas between the Blue Line – the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River, about 30 km from the border with Israel.
Israel says this has never been fully respected, while Lebanon says Israeli violations include military flights over Lebanese territory.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 3,750 people have been killed and at least 15,600 injured in Lebanon since October 2023, with more than a million forced to flee their homes.
Several people were injured and buildings were damaged during Sunday’s Hezbollah attacks on northern and central Israel, some of them near Tel Aviv, Israeli police said.
The attacks followed an Israeli airstrike on central Beirut on Saturday that killed 29 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Hostilities continued on Monday. At least 31 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, according to the AFP news agency.
Israel also carried out multiple attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying it targeted buildings linked to Hezbollah.
