Israel and Hezbollah are close to a ceasefire agreement, the Israeli ambassador to Washington said

(Tribune News Service) — Israel is potentially days away from reaching a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Israel’s ambassador to the United States said following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by the outgoing Biden administration’s senior envoy.

“We are close to an agreement,” Michael Herzog told Israel Army Radio on Monday, adding that some final points remained to be discussed. “This could happen within a few days.”

Other Israeli and US officials have made similar predictions in recent weeks, and it remains unclear whether Hezbollah will agree to the deal. The Iran-backed group has been severely weakened after two months of increased Israeli sabotage, air strikes and ground incursions in southern Lebanon. But it is still capable of firing missiles at Israel on a daily basis and offering some resistance to Israeli ground forces.

On Sunday, Hezbollah fired at least 250 rockets and drones into Israel, wounding several people, while the Israeli air force carried out strikes on targets in Lebanon.

In Israel, far-right coalition member National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir opposed the proposed truce, saying it would be a “historic missed opportunity” to crush the Iran-backed group. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still appears capable of winning cabinet support.

The two sides have been in conflict since Hezbollah began carrying out strikes on Israeli territory last October in a show of solidarity with Hamas. Both Hezbollah and Hamas, which sparked the ongoing Gaza war with their attacks on southern Israel, are considered terrorist organizations by the United States and many other countries.

Amos Hochstein, the White House envoy to the Middle East, was in Lebanon and Israel last week to try to broker a ceasefire before President Joe Biden hands over power to Donald Trump in January. Another US envoy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Shapiro, was in Israel, local media reported, for talks on future security arrangements in Lebanon.

Once Netanyahu’s security cabinet signs the truce, Washington will move it to Beirut, where government officials are serving as intermediaries for Hezbollah, Army Radio reported. Last week, one of Hezbollah’s main political allies, Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, said progress was being made but “technical details” remained to be resolved.

The US proposal calls for an initial 60-day suspension of hostilities, during which Hezbollah fighters would move north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Israeli border.

Israel also wants the Lebanese army, separate from Hezbollah, to station itself in southern Lebanon, bolstering the United Nations peacekeeping force and helping ensure the militant group does not operate there.

The Israeli government wants the right to resume strikes in Lebanon in the event of violations by Hezbollah. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah rejected this demand.

Some 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes and ground offensives over the past two months, and 1.2 million people – more than a fifth of the population – have been forced to flee their homes. About 50 Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Netanyahu’s cabinet has made the return of northern Israelis to their homes a priority, which cannot happen without a cessation of hostilities with Hezbollah.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have stalled for months. Although the conflicts are interconnected, there is little indication that an agreement on Lebanon will increase the chances of a truce in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah initially said it would not stop attacking Israel until a ceasefire was reached in Gaza, but softened its stance as it suffered military losses.

“Hezbollah refused this demand due to the heavy blow it had to deal,” Ze’ev Elkin, a member of the Israeli security cabinet, told Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM.

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