A senior US mediator said on Tuesday there was a “real opportunity” to end the conflict between Israel and Hizbullah and that gaps were narrowing, signalling progress in Washington’s efforts to clinch a ceasefire.
White House envoy Amos Hochstein spoke in Beirut following talks with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a day after the Lebanese government and Iran-backed Hizbullah agreed to a US ceasefire proposal, with some comments on the content.
“I came back because we have a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end,” Mr Hochstein told a press conference after the meeting. “It is now within our grasp. As the window is now, I hope the coming days yield a resolute decision.”
Mr Hochstein’s mission marks a last-ditch attempt by the outgoing US administration to clinch a ceasefire in Lebanon as diplomacy to end the war in Gaza appears totally adrift.
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Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen said on Tuesday “there are talks regarding an arrangement with Lebanon” but reiterated that Israel would agree only if all its demands were met, including pushing Hizbullah away from the border.
The diplomatic efforts coincide with an intensification of the war, with Israel stepping up its strikes on Beirut’s Hizbullah-controlled southern suburbs and striking three times in the capital itself in the last three days.
The conflict spiralled into all-out war in September when Israel went on the offensive, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with air strikes, sending troops into the south, and killing many Hizbullah commanders including leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Mr Hochstein has tried to broker a ceasefire several times over the last year.
Israel launched its offensive after almost a year of cross-border hostilities with Hizbullah, which opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas after the group’s October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel led to the start of the Gaza war.
Israel’s declared goal is to dismantle Hezbollah’s capabilities and secure the return of tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from the north.
An Israeli strike killed two people in the Chiyah district of Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Lebanese health ministry said.
At least 35 projectiles were fired into Israel from Lebanon on Tuesday, some of which were intercepted, according to Israeli military statements. The Israeli air force also intercepted two drones flown into Israel from Lebanon, the military said.
Lebanon has rejected Israel being granted freedom of action in its lands. Mr Berri said last week the US proposal did not mention this.
Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has uprooted more than 1 million people in the last eight weeks and killed 3,481 people in Lebanon since hostilities began, most since late September, Lebanese authorities say. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Hizbullah strikes have killed 43 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, while 73 soldiers have been killed in strikes in northern Israel and the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli figures.
Also on Tuesday, Argentina notified the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon of its withdrawal from the force, a Unifil spokesperson said, in the first sign of cracks in the unity of the mission following attacks it has blamed on Israel.
The 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission known as Unifil is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the demarcation line with Israel, an area where there have been hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters for over a year.
“Argentina has asked its officers to go back [to Argentina],” Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in response to a question about a newspaper report.
He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to Argentina’s government.
Argentina is one of 48 countries contributing peacekeepers to Unifil, with a total of three staff currently in Lebanon, a UN website showed. It did not immediately respond to Mr Tenenti’s comments.
Unifil has previously referred to “unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels”.
Peacekeepers have refused to leave their posts despite more than 20 injuries in the past two months and damage to facilities which Unifil blames on the Israeli military.
Israel has denied such incidents are deliberate attacks.
Some 340 Irish Defence Forces personnel are part of the Unifil mission.
[ Israel-Hizbullah ceasefire hopes grow as Lebanon agrees to plan in principleOpens in new window ]
Elsewhere, the US Senate is due to vote on Wednesday on legislation that would block arms sales to Israel, backed by senators who say Israel is obstructing aid shipments desperately needed by Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The “resolutions of disapproval” were filed by senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Strong bipartisan support for Israel means the resolutions are not expected to pass, but backers hope they will encourage Israel’s government and president Joe Biden’s administration to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.
Most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave is at risk of famine. Gaza health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's 13-month-old offensive.
Two of the resolutions, co-sponsored with Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Peter Welch, would block the sale of 120mm mortar rounds and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS). A third, sponsored by Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, would block the sale of tank rounds.
JDAM tail kits, which convert a standard unguided bomb using fins and a GPS guidance system into a guided weapon, are made by Boeing.
“This war has been conducted almost entirely with American weapons and $18 billion [€17 billion] in US taxpayer dollars. Israel has dropped US-provided 2,000-lb bombs into crowded neighbourhoods, killed hundreds of civilians to take out a handful of Hamas fighters, and made little effort to distinguish between civilians and combatants,” Mr Sanders said in a statement.
“These actions are immoral and illegal,” he said.
Mr Biden, whose term ends in January, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Biden administration in October told Israel that it had 30 days to improve the flow of aid to Gaza or risk consequences to US military aid.
After that period, Washington said on November 12th it concluded that Israel had made progress and was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza. Many aid groups disagreed.
Israel says it has been working to address humanitarian needs and the main problem with aid deliveries was UN distribution challenges. – Reuters