Israel-Hezbollah close to ceasefire deal: Israeli envoy to Washington

By Dan Williams

 

Israel is potentially days away from a cease-fire deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said, following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by a senior envoy for the outgoing Biden administration.

 

“We are close to deal,” Michael Herzog told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday. “It could happen within days.”

 

There have been similar predictions by other Israeli and US officials in recent weeks and it remains unclear if Hezbollah will accept a 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’s still able to fire rockets into Israel on a daily basis and put up resistance against Israeli ground forces. 

 

 

On Sunday, Hezbollah fired at least 250 rockets and drones into Israel, wounding several people, and the Israeli Air Force struck targets in Lebanon.

 

The two sides have been in conflict since Hezbollah began launching strikes against Israel in October last year in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Both groups are deemed terrorist organizations by the US and many other countries.

 

White House envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week to try to clinch a cease-fire before President Joe Biden hands over to Donald Trump in January.

 

According to Army Radio, once the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs off on a truce, Washington will take it to Beirut, where government officials have been serving as intermediaries with Hezbollah. Last week, one of Hezbollah’s main political allies, Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, said there was progress but there were still “technical details” to resolve.

 

Talks between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire in Gaza have been stalled for months. Though the conflicts are connected, there’s little sign a deal over Lebanon would increase the chances of a truce in Gaza.