After a year of cross-border firefights in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Shiite movement and the Israeli army went to war on September 23.
Since this escalation, which led to massive Israeli bombings on Hezbollah strongholds, all international efforts towards a truce have failed, despite calls from Washington and France.
Without revealing the details, a senior Lebanese official told AFP that the American ambassador to Beirut Lisa Johnson had presented to Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the head of Parliament Nabih Berri a 13-point plan.
“It’s a sort of American proposal. Berri asked for a three-day delay,” said the official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the subject.
He stressed that Israel had not yet provided a response.
If there is an agreement, it will be announced in a joint Franco-American press release, added this senior official. “There will be a 60-day ceasefire and Lebanon will begin deploying its army to the border.”
A spokesperson for the US State Department told AFP that he could not “comment on ongoing private negotiations”.
A second Lebanese government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a proposal was under consideration.
Discussions are currently focused on the most sensitive point: who will monitor the implementation of the truce.
Diplomatic sources said Hockstein would later travel to Tel Aviv to provide the Lebanese response to the American proposal.
Observers have pointed out that the current wording of the deal presents Israel as the victor, which could prompt Hezbollah to refuse to definitively adopt what looks more like an act of surrender than a ceasefire agreement. .
The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, and his aides are in constant contact with Hockstein, with the aim of reaching a final formulation that satisfies all parties.
Sources also claimed that US Ambassador Lisa Johnson met with Acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Berri to present the 13-point US proposal.
The US proposal builds on UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and calls for extending the authority of the Lebanese army to the south and withdrawing weapons and the activists.
However, Hezbollah considers that this proposal, although it constitutes a founding framework for any agreement, requires lengthy discussions before its adoption.
Talks under fire
As the talks continued, Israel intensified its military operations in Lebanon, including intensive raids on the south, the Bekaa and southern suburbs.
It also launched a limited ground operation in the south, where its forces entered some border towns, leading to widespread destruction and an increase in the Lebanese death toll to more than 3,800 since the conflict began last year. , after Hezbollah opened what it called the “Gaza Support Front.”
For their part, Hezbollah resistance fighters continue to face Israeli aggression and thwart its land plans, while targeting occupation bases located deep within Israeli territories.
The Resistance has repeatedly struck the cantonments of Israeli soldiers in the locality of Khiam. Likewise, it launched four salvos of missiles against a gathering of Israeli army forces south of the town of Khiam.
It also bombarded several colonies in the Galilee.
According to Israeli media, 30 missiles were fired from southern Lebanon towards the Upper Galilee and Western Galilee.
The Islamic Resistance attacked a gathering of forces of the Israeli occupation army in the settlement of Kiryat Shmona. Israeli media reported that several missiles landed in Kiryat Shmona, causing extensive damage. Rockets also fell on the settlement of Zarit and relief forces rushed to the area. And added: Two injured Israelis were transferred to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya following rocket fire from southern Lebanon.
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