Advancing towards a ceasefire in Lebanon, Paris calls on Israel and Hezbollah to “seize it”

Discussions on a ceasefire in Lebanon have “advanced significantly”, the Élysée declared on Monday, calling on Israel and Hezbollah to seize this opportunity “as quickly as possible”, while the Israeli security cabinet must pronounce on Tuesday on a possible agreement.

“Discussions on a ceasefire on the blue line (in southern Lebanon, editor’s note) have advanced significantly,” indicated the French presidency, at a time when Washington was talking about a “close” agreement. “We hope that stakeholders will seize this opportunity as quickly as possible,” she added. Four senior Lebanese sources told Reuters that U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce a ceasefire within 36 hours under existing plans. “We think we have reached the point where we are close” to an agreement, declared John Kirby, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, while emphasizing that nothing was yet certain.

“The United States believes the gaps have been narrowed significantly, but there is still action to be taken. Washington does not believe that an agreement has been reached regarding Lebanon,” said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

These announcements were made after an intensification in recent days of deadly Israeli strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, while international actors redoubled their efforts towards a ceasefire. The Israeli security cabinet “will decide on Tuesday evening” on a ceasefire agreement, an Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity, without providing further details.

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On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah opened a front against Israel in support of Hamas, its Palestinian ally, target of a destructive offensive in Gaza launched by Israel in response to an unprecedented attack carried out by the Islamist movement against its territory on October 7, 2023. October 2023. After a year of cross-border violence and after weakening Hamas in Gaza, Israel concentrated its operations in Lebanon by launching an intense bombing campaign from the 23 last September on Hezbollah strongholds.

Big mistake

The vice-president of the Lebanese Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, told Reuters that there remained “no serious obstacles” to the implementation of a truce proposed by the United States. He added that a sticking point regarding monitoring of the ceasefire had been resolved over the past 24 hours by the establishment of a committee made up of five countries, including France, and chaired by the UNITED STATES. According to him, the truce proposed by Washington provides for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army within 60 days.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah “progress” while specifying that his country “will ensure that it has the capacity to neutralize any untreated threat in southern Lebanon”. The head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani, who chairs a meeting of G7 foreign ministers near Rome, said Monday “optimistic” about a ceasefire.

The mediations are based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. 1701 stipulates that only the Lebanese army and peacekeepers can be deployed on the southern border of Lebanon. Subsequently, the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, and the UN called for a ceasefire.

But for the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir (far right), who is not a member of the security cabinet, a ceasefire would be “a big mistake”. Originally from northern Israel, Dorit Sison, 51, also fears a settlement like in 2006, which according to her allowed Hezbollah to “rearm itself”. Now “they have tunnels, rockets, all possible munitions.”

Israel says it wants to put Hezbollah and Hamas, allies of Iran, its enemy, out of harm’s way. He vowed to destroy Hamas after the October 7 attack and wants to stop Hezbollah’s rocket attacks, which have displaced some 60,000 northern residents for more than a year. On Monday, the Israeli army claimed to have struck about 25 Hezbollah-linked targets in Lebanon’s southern suburbs, south and east in an hour. At least 12 people were killed in raids in the southern Tire region, according to the Health Ministry.

Hezbollah fired at least 30 projectiles at Israel, the army said the day after 50 rocket and drone attacks claimed by the Shiite group against Israeli regions including Tel Aviv (center), a record since September. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 3,768 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023, most since last September. On the Israeli side, 82 soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in 13 months.