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Solution to stop Israel-Hezbollah war 'within reach,' says US envoy to Lebanon
A solution to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is “within reach,” the US president's special envoy, Amos Hochstein, said Tuesday, currently in Beirut to negotiate a truce following a American proposal. The United States and France have increased initiatives for a ceasefire, but so far, international efforts to end hostilities have failed. Pro-Iranian Hezbollah has opened a front against Israel the day after the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, claiming to act in support of the Palestinian Islamist movement. After a year of cross-border exchanges of fire , Hezbollah and Israel entered into open war on September 23, and the Israeli army has been carrying out incursions into southern Lebanon since September 30. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since on October 8, 2023, the majority of them – including more than 200 children, according to Unicef - since September 23. On the Israeli side, the army announced on Tuesday the death of a soldier the day before in fighting against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, bringing its loss toll to 49 since September 30. In total, 79 soldiers and 46 civilians were killed in 13 months. The American ambassador to Beirut, Lisa Johnson, presented last Thursday to the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, and the head of Parliament, Nabih Berri, a 13-point plan providing for a 60-day truce and the deployment of the army in southern Lebanon. In this context, the American president's special envoy, Amos Hochstein, affirmed that he “returned (to Beirut) because we have a real opportunity to end this conflict.” “It is the parties who must decide to put an end to to this conflict”, he said after meeting Nabih Berri, ally of Hezbollah and responsible for leading the negotiations. “It is now within reach,” he added. The day before, a Lebanese official familiar with the negotiations assured that Lebanon had a “very positive” point of view on the American proposal.- Warning from Netanyahu -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, warned Monday evening that Israel “will carry out military operations” against Hezbollah even in the event of a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Israel says it wants to keep Hezbollah away border regions of southern Lebanon to allow the return of some 60,000 inhabitants of northern Israel displaced by the movement's fire. In Lebanon, tens of thousands of residents were also displaced. On Tuesday, Israeli strikes targeted the city of Tire and the towns of Qana and Khiam in southern Lebanon, as well as two villages in the Bekaa plain ( est), according to the National Information Agency. She also reported fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers near Chamaa, five kilometers from the border. Hezbollah notably claimed to have fired missiles against a Military Intelligence base near Tel Aviv, in the center of 'Israel.The Israeli army indicated that approximately 40 projectiles were fired Tuesday morning from Lebanon into Israeli territory.- Support the Lebanese army – On Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said confirmed that the United States had “shared proposals” with the Lebanese and Israeli governments. “There was an exchange of ideas” on how to “fully implement Security Council Resolution 1701 of the UN,” he added. This resolution, which marked the end of the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, stipulates that only the Lebanese army and the Blue Helmets must be deployed on the southern border of Lebanon, implying a withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters towards areas further north but also that of Israeli soldiers in Lebanese territory. “There is no better solution at this stage than to respect resolution 1701 and support the Lebanese armed forces”, judged the French Minister of the Armed Forces on Tuesday, Sébastien Lecornu, on tour in the Gulf. But to secure the Israeli-Lebanese border, and “strengthen the sovereignty of Lebanon, the armed forces must be truly armed,” he emphasized. The Hamas attack which triggered the military escalation in the Middle East resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data, including hostages killed or died in captivity. That day, 251 people were kidnapped. In total, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army. In retaliation, the Israeli army launched an air and then ground offensive in Gaza, which left at least 43,972 dead, mostly civilians, according to reports. data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN. Almost all of the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced in this besieged territory in the grip of a humanitarian disaster.bur-anr-cab/ila
