Israel looks set to approve a United States (U.S.) plan for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said, clearing the way for an end to the war which has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza conflict 14 months ago.
Israel’s security cabinet is expected to convene later on Tuesday to discuss and likely approve the text at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official said.
This would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, four senior Lebanese sources told Reuters on Monday.
In Washington, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday, “We’re close” but “nothing is done until everything is done.” The French presidency said discussions on a ceasefire had made significant progress.
The agreement has already won approval in Beirut, where Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker official told Reuters on Monday there were no serious obstacles left to start implementing it—unless Netanyahu changed his mind.
Netanyahu’s office declined on Monday to comment on reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to the text of a deal.
Hezbollah, seen as a terrorist group by Washington, has endorsed its ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate.
The plan requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanese army troops to deploy in the border region—a Hezbollah stronghold—within 60 days, Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker, and a second Israeli official told Reuters.
Signs of a breakthrough have been accompanied by military escalation, with Israeli airstrikes demolishing more of Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs on Monday.
The destruction across wide areas of Lebanon brings into focus a huge reconstruction bill awaiting cash-strapped Lebanon, with more than 1 million people displaced.
In Israel, a ceasefire will pave the way for 60,000 people to return to homes in the north, which they evacuated as Hezbollah began firing rockets in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas a day after that group’s October 7, 2023 assault.
