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The Lebanese government is reviewing a US truce proposal in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, Lebanese officials told AFP on Friday, nearly two months since cross-border clashes escalated into a full-blown war.
Israel has intensified its bombing of mainly Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since September 23 and later sent in ground troops, nearly a year into limited exchanges of fire initiated by the group in support of Palestinian ally Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack sparked the Gaza war.
Ceasefire efforts spearheaded by the United States and France have so far failed to halt the hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese group, which like Hamas is backed by Iran.
But two Lebanese government officials said a new proposal was on the table.
Requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, one top official said US Ambassador Lisa Johnson discussed the plan on Thursday with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has been involved in mediation efforts on behalf of the group.
The proposal comprises “13 points spanning five pages”, said the official, offering few details.
If an agreement is reached, Washington and Paris would issue a joint statement, he said, followed by a 60-day truce during which Lebanon will redeploy troops in the southern border area, near Israel.
The proposal is “an American one, and Berri asked for three days” to study it, the official added.
He also said Israel has yet to respond to the initiative.
Israeli officials have recently vowed no let-up in the fighting against Hezbollah.
A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on “ongoing, private negotiations”, but said that “we remain committed to a diplomatic resolution that restores a lasting calm allowing residents in both Lebanon and Israel to return safely to their homes.”
A second Lebanese official, also requesting anonymity, confirmed a truce proposal was “under study” and said he was “optimistic” about the talks.
“The proposal is the result of the last meeting between Berri and (US special envoy Amos) Hochstein, who reached an understanding for a ceasefire roadmap based on implementing Resolution 1701,” he said.
Berri and Hochstein last met in October.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, said Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces deployed in the south, where Hezbollah holds sway.
The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon.
The second official suggested Lebanon would object to an agreement that would allow Israeli forces to keep conducting operations against Hezbollah inside Lebanon, as some media reports said Israel had demanded.
“If Israel can launch operations in Lebanon, why reach a ceasefire and implement Resolution 1701 at all?” the official said.
AFP
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