Israel and Hezbollah at war | A solution “within reach”, according to an American envoy

(Beirut) A solution to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is “within reach”, said Tuesday the US president’s special envoy, Amos Hochstein, currently in Beirut to negotiate a truce in the aftermath of an American proposal.

The United States and France have stepped up initiatives with a view to a ceasefire. So far, all international efforts towards a truce have failed.

The pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah 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, saying it was acting in support of the Islamist movement. Palestinian.

After a year of cross-border firefights in southern Lebanon, 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 October 8, 2023, the majority since September 23. According to UNICEF, more than 200 children have been killed in nearly two months of war. On the Israeli side, 46 civilians and 78 soldiers died.

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. This proposal was very favorably received by Lebanon.

In this context, the American President’s special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Tuesday.

“I came back because we have a real opportunity to end this conflict,” he explained after meeting Nabih Berri, Hezbollah ally and responsible for leading the negotiations.

“It is the parties who must decide to put an end to this conflict,” he said, before adding: “it is now within reach.”

The day before, a Lebanese official familiar with the negotiations assured that Lebanon had a “very positive” point of view regarding the American proposal.

Netanyahu’s warning

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, warned Monday evening that Israel “will lead[it] military operations » against Hezbollah even in the event of a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

Israel says it wants to distance Hezbollah from the border regions of southern Lebanon to ensure the return home of some 60,000 residents of northern Israel displaced by the movement’s fire for more than a year. In Lebanon, tens of thousands of residents have also been 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 (East), according to the National Information Agency, which added that fighting had broken out between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers near Chamaa, five kilometers from the border.

The day before, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a densely populated neighborhood of Beirut.

“There is no Hezbollah office here. […] There is a hair salon, a boutique and a mobile phone store. There is nothing else,” Hassan Muslimani, a resident of the neighborhood, told AFPTV on Tuesday, amid the rubble.

For its part, the Israeli army indicated that around 40 projectiles were fired Tuesday morning from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

“Resolution 1701”

On Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed that the United States had “shared proposals, both with the Lebanese government and the Israeli government.” Both parties have responded to the proposals we have put forward.”

“There was an exchange of ideas” on how to “fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which we believe is in the interest of all,” he said. he declared.

This resolution, which provides for the cessation of hostilities on both sides, made it possible to end the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

It stipulates that only the Lebanese army and the Blue Helmets be deployed on the southern border of Lebanon, marking a withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters towards areas further north, but also that of Israeli soldiers from Lebanese territory.

“The most important thing is that there is no Hezbollah 30 or 40 kilometers from the border, so that Israel can protect itself in the event of a ground maneuver,” Eyal Pinko, specialist, analyzed for AFP. defense issues at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv.

But “we are very far from that,” he said, noting discrepancies between official Israeli declarations and the reality on the ground.

The situation in the Middle East has worsened since the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 in Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,206 people, mostly 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 a massive bombing campaign followed by a ground offensive in Gaza, which left at least 43,972 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, considered reliable. by the UN.