US envoy in Israel for truce
Published: 05:11 PM,Nov 20,2024 | EDITED : 09:11 PM,Nov 20,2024
US special envoy Amos Hochstein talks to reporters following his meeting in Beirut on Wednesday. - AFP
BEIRUT: US envoy Amos Hochstein announced he would head to Israel on Wednesday after spending two days in Lebanon trying to hammer out a deal for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The United States and France have spearheaded efforts for a truce in the conflict, which escalated in late September after nearly a year of deadly exchanges of fire across Israel's northern border.
Israel expanded the focus of its operations from Gaza to Lebanon, vowing to secure the north and allow tens of thousands of people displaced by the cross-border fire to return home.
On Wednesday, Hochstein met for a second time with one of his main interlocutors, Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of the group.
'The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday and made additional progress, 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 in brief remarks to reporters in the Lebanese capital.
The day before, Hochstein had said an end to the war was 'within our grasp', while Berri said the situation was 'good, in principle' though some details remained to be ironed out.
A diplomat in Lebanon, requesting anonymity, said on Wednesday that Hochstein and Lebanese officials had studied some modifications to the US truce plan.
During his visit Hochstein also met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army chief Joseph Aoun, as well as Christian political leader Samir Geagea.
What remains to be seen is the Israeli position on the plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament on Monday that Israel would 'be forced to ensure our security in the north', and would continue to conduct military operations against Hezbollah even if a ceasefire was reached.
Hezbollah began its cross-border attacks in support of Hamas following the Palestinian group's assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
The health ministry in Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war has reached 43,985 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Since expanding its operations to Lebanon in September, Israel has conducted extensive bombing campaigns primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds.
More than 3,544 people in Lebanon have been killed since the clashes began, authorities have said, most since late September. Among them were more than 200 children, according to the United Nations.
With Hochstein in Beirut, the situation in the capital was relatively calm on Tuesday and Wednesday, but south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, has seen battles and strikes.
The United States has been pushing for a UN resolution that ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006 to form the basis of a new truce.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces deployed in south Lebanon.
While not engaged in the ongoing war, the Lebanese army has reported multiple fatalities from among its ranks.
On Wednesday, the army said Israeli fire killed a soldier in south Lebanon, a day after it announced the deaths of three other personnel in a strike.
The Israeli military later said, without mentioning the deaths, that it was looking into reports of Lebanese soldiers injured by a strike on Tuesday. SEE ALSO P4
The United States and France have spearheaded efforts for a truce in the conflict, which escalated in late September after nearly a year of deadly exchanges of fire across Israel's northern border.
Israel expanded the focus of its operations from Gaza to Lebanon, vowing to secure the north and allow tens of thousands of people displaced by the cross-border fire to return home.
On Wednesday, Hochstein met for a second time with one of his main interlocutors, Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of the group.
'The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday and made additional progress, 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 in brief remarks to reporters in the Lebanese capital.
The day before, Hochstein had said an end to the war was 'within our grasp', while Berri said the situation was 'good, in principle' though some details remained to be ironed out.
A diplomat in Lebanon, requesting anonymity, said on Wednesday that Hochstein and Lebanese officials had studied some modifications to the US truce plan.
During his visit Hochstein also met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army chief Joseph Aoun, as well as Christian political leader Samir Geagea.
What remains to be seen is the Israeli position on the plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament on Monday that Israel would 'be forced to ensure our security in the north', and would continue to conduct military operations against Hezbollah even if a ceasefire was reached.
Hezbollah began its cross-border attacks in support of Hamas following the Palestinian group's assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
The health ministry in Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war has reached 43,985 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Since expanding its operations to Lebanon in September, Israel has conducted extensive bombing campaigns primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds.
More than 3,544 people in Lebanon have been killed since the clashes began, authorities have said, most since late September. Among them were more than 200 children, according to the United Nations.
With Hochstein in Beirut, the situation in the capital was relatively calm on Tuesday and Wednesday, but south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, has seen battles and strikes.
The United States has been pushing for a UN resolution that ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006 to form the basis of a new truce.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces deployed in south Lebanon.
While not engaged in the ongoing war, the Lebanese army has reported multiple fatalities from among its ranks.
On Wednesday, the army said Israeli fire killed a soldier in south Lebanon, a day after it announced the deaths of three other personnel in a strike.
The Israeli military later said, without mentioning the deaths, that it was looking into reports of Lebanese soldiers injured by a strike on Tuesday. SEE ALSO P4