Israel is moving toward a ceasefire in the war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, but there are still issues to be resolved, the government said on Monday, while the Israeli ambassador to the United States was quoted as saying that an agreement could be reached in the coming days.
Efforts to broker a truce appeared to be progressing last week when U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein declared significant progress after talks in Beirut, before holding meetings in Israel and returning to Washington.
Hostilities, however, intensified alongside the diplomatic movement: over the weekend, Israel carried out powerful airstrikes, one of which killed at least 29 people in central Beirut, while Hezbollah, supported by Iran launched one of its largest rocket salvos on Sunday, firing 250 missiles.
“We are moving towards an agreement, but there are still issues to be resolved,” said David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, without giving further details.
Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, told Israeli radio GLZ that a deal was close and “could happen in the coming days…”. All we have to do is overcome the final obstacles,” according to a message posted on X by Efi Triger, main presenter of GLZ.
However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel must continue the war until “absolute victory.” Speaking to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, he said: “It is not too late to end this agreement.”
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated into full-blown war in September, when the Israeli army went on the offensive, bombarding large areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.
Israel has dealt significant blows to Hezbollah, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other senior commanders, and inflicting massive destruction in areas of Lebanon where the group exercises its influence, including the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israel carried out new airstrikes on the southern suburb known as Dahiyeh on Monday, saying it hit Hezbollah’s military headquarters and issuing advance warnings for residents to evacuate the area, which is largely deserted.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said last week that the group had reviewed and responded to the U.S. ceasefire proposal, and that any truce was now in Israel’s hands.
Considered a terrorist group by the United States, Hezbollah, a heavily armed Shiite Muslim, supported the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, of the Shiite Amal movement, to negotiate.
Israel says its goal is to ensure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from the north of the country due to rocket fire from Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The Israeli offensive has forced more than a million people from their homes in Lebanon.
Diplomacy has focused on reestablishing a ceasefire based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. Hezbollah must withdraw its fighters about 30 km from the Israeli border and the regular Lebanese army is to deploy in the border region.
