Hezbollah, a heavily armed movement backed by Iran, endorsed its long-time ally Berri to negotiate over a ceasefire.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content,” a top Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday (November 18, 2024), describing the effort as the most serious yet to end to the fighting.

Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon had delivered its written response to the U.S. ambassador in Lebanon on Monday (November 18, 2024), and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was travelling to Beirut to continue talks.

Hezbollah, a heavily armed movement backed by Iran, endorsed its long-time ally Berri to negotiate over a ceasefire.

“Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere,” Mr. Khalil said, declining to give further details. “All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (U.N.) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” he said.

He was referring to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Its terms require Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the frontier.

Mr. Khalil said the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying if Israel did not want a solution, “it could make 100 problems”.

Israel has long claimed that Resolution 1701 was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon has accused Israel of violations including flying warplanes in its airspace.

Mr. Khalil said Israel was trying to negotiate “under fire”, a reference to an escalation of its bombardment of Beirut and the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. “This won’t affect our position,” he said.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem on Monday (November 18, 2024).
| Photo Credit: AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday (November 18, 2024) that Israel will continue to operate militarily against the Iran-backed Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah even if a ceasefire deal is reached in Lebanon.

“The most important thing is not (the deal that) will be laid on paper,” Mr. Netanyahu told the Israeli Parliament.

“We will be forced to ensure our security in the north (of Israel) and to systematically carry out operations against Hezbollah’s attacks… even after a ceasefire,” to keep the group from rebuilding, he said.

Mr. Netanyahu also said there was no evidence that Hezbollah would respect any ceasefire reached.

“We will not allow Hezbollah to return to the state it was in on October 6, 2023, the eve of the strike by its Palestinian ally Hamas into southern Israel,” he said.

Hezbollah then began firing into northern Israel in support of Hamas, triggering exchanges with Israel that escalated into full-on war in late September this year.

“Lebanon’s government has largely endorsed a U.S. truce proposal to end the Israel-Hezbollah war and was preparing final comments before responding to Washington,” a Lebanese official told AFP on Monday (November 18, 2024).

Israel insists that any truce deal must guarantee no further Hezbollah presence in the area bordering Israel.