By Hannah Confino
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel is transferring in the direction of a ceasefire within the struggle with Lebanon’s Hezbollah however there are nonetheless points to deal with, the federal government stated on Monday, whereas the Israeli ambassador to the US was quoted saying a deal might transpire inside days.
Efforts to clinch a truce seemed to be advancing final week when U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein declared vital progress after talks in Beirut earlier than holding conferences in Israel after which returning to Washington.
Hostilities have intensified in parallel with the diplomatic motion, nevertheless: over the weekend, Israel carried out highly effective airstrikes, certainly one of which killed at the least 29 folks in central Beirut – whereas the Iran-backed Hezbollah unleashed certainly one of its largest rocket salvoes but on Sunday, firing 250 missiles.
“We are moving in the direction towards a deal, but there are still some issues to address,” Israeli authorities spokesperson David Mencer stated, with out elaborating.
Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the US, informed Israel’s GLZ radio an settlement was shut and “it could happen within days … We just need to close the last corners”, in line with a publish on X by GLZ senior anchorman Efi Triger.
However far-right Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated Israel should press on with the struggle till “absolute victory”. Addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, he stated “it is not too late to stop this agreement!”
The battle between Israel and Hezbollah spiralled into full-scale struggle in September, when the Israeli navy went on the offensive, pounding large areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.
Israel has dealt main blows to Hezbollah, killing its chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and different prime commanders and inflicting huge destruction in areas of Lebanon the place the group holds sway, together with Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israel carried out additional airstrikes on the southern suburbs generally known as Dahiyeh on Monday, saying it struck Hezbollah navy headquarters and that it had issued advance warnings for residents to evacuate the realm, which is essentially abandoned.
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stated final week that the group had reviewed and given suggestions on the U.S. ceasefire proposal, and any truce was now in Israel’s arms.
Branded a terrorist group by the US, the closely armed, Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah has endorsed Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of the Shi’ite Amal motion to barter.
Israel says its intention is to safe the return house of tens of hundreds of individuals evacuated from its north on account of rocket assaults by Hezbollah, which opened fireplace in assist of Hamas firstly of the Gaza struggle in October 2023.
Israel’s offensive has compelled greater than 1 million folks from their properties in Lebanon.
Diplomacy has centered on restoring a ceasefire based mostly on U.N. Safety Council Decision 1701, which ended a 2006 Hezbollah-Israel struggle. It requires Hezbollah to drag its fighters again round 30 km (19 miles) from the Israeli border, and the common Lebanese military to deploy into the border area.
