US envoy to travel to Israel in bid to seal Hezbollah ceasefire

By Maya Gebeily

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said he will travel to Israel on Wednesday to try to secure a ceasefire ending the war with Lebanon's Hezbollah group after declaring additional progress in talks in Beirut.

Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Tuesday, seeking to clinch a ceasefire agreement after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal, although with some comments.

"The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress," Hochstein said after his second meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, endorsed by the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah to negotiate.

"So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can," Hochstein said.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group had given its own feedback on the truce draft and that it was shared with Hochstein. He said whether a ceasefire was reached now depended on Israel and whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was serious about one. Hezbollah stood ready to keep on fighting for a long time, he added.

Israel's Channel 12 reported late on Wednesday that most of the points of the deal had been agreed upon by both parties.

According to the Israel Hayom news website, Hochstein would meeting Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Wednesday evening.

The diplomacy aims to end a conflict that has inflicted massive devastation in Lebanon since Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah in September, mounting airstrikes across wide parts of the country and sending in troops.

Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from its north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Hezbollah, still reeling from the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, has kept up rocket fire into Israel, attacking Tel Aviv this week, and its fighters are battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south.

Although diplomacy to end the Gaza war has largely stalled, the Biden administration aims to seal a ceasefire in the parallel conflict in Lebanon before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

"We are going to work with the incoming administration. We're already going to be discussing this with them. They will be fully aware of what we're doing," Hochstein said.

Diplomats aim to restore a ceasefire based on a U.N. resolution that ended an earlier conflict in 2006.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, addressing ambassadors in Israel, said in any agreement, "we will have to maintain our freedom to act if there will be violations".

"First of all, we will have to enforce that they (Hezbollah) will not return to near our border south of the Litani river, this is crucial," he said, referring to a Lebanese river that runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the frontier.

"Secondly, we will have to enforce that they will not be able to build again their force in Lebanon, they will not be able to bring again ammunitions, missiles to manufacture it or to bring it from Iran through Syria, by sea, and through the airport (in Beirut) in any way," he added.

Lebanon has rejected Israel having the freedom to act on its territory. Berri has said language about Israeli freedom to act was not included in the draft U.S. proposal submitted to him last week.

HEZBOLLAH REVIEWED PROPOSAL

Hezbollah's Qassem, in a televised speech, said Israel must not be allowed to breach Lebanon's sovereignty, enter its territory, and kill as it pleases. Hezbollah had decided not to speak about the agreement or its remarks, he added.

U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 requires the Lebanese state to have a monopoly on arms in the area between border and the Litani River. This means Hezbollah should have no military presence near the frontier.

Israel has long complained the resolution was not implemented and Hezbollah remained armed at the border. Lebanon also accused Israel of regularly violating the resolution.

The casualty toll since Oct., 2023 stands at 3,558 people killed in Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry says, most of them killed during the Israeli offensive since September. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry said 14 fatalities were reported on Tuesday.

Hezbollah strikes have killed 43 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, while 73 soldiers have been killed in strikes in northern Israel and the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israel.