Top Israeli defense and political officials are expressing cautious optimism following US mediator Amos Hochstein's recent visit to the region. According to high-level sources briefed on the discussions, Hochstein took a firm and uncompromising approach to the Lebanese, presenting a series of clear conditions to Hezbollah, which would have allowed a significant breakthrough in the negotiations. “I presented them with an ultimatum, and it seems to have worked,” Hochstein reportedly said in private discussions with Israeli officials. However, despite this positive atmosphere, diplomatic sources involved in these delicate negotiations point to a major obstacle: the Lebanese camp has not yet received final approval from Iran, which exercises decisive influence over Hezbollah.
Intensive diplomatic efforts in recent days have focused on minimizing instances where Israel would have to violate Lebanese sovereignty in the event of a violation of the agreement. The main objective is to grant the broadest possible powers to the international monitoring mechanism, while defining precise criteria for situations where Israel would be allowed to exercise its freedom of military action.
As part of these advances, the commander of American CENTCOM met this weekend with Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. According to the draft agreement currently being developed, the Lebanese army will have to carry out a vast operation to evacuate weapons from villages in southern Lebanon, under the close supervision of CENTCOM forces.
Alongside diplomatic progress, the IDF is maintaining significant military pressure from the air and expanding its maneuver operations in the sector. The Chief of Staff also ordered the General Staff divisions to continue developing comprehensive operational plans, both for a failure of the negotiations and for a violation of the agreement by Hezbollah, scenarios which could require a series of military actions in Lebanese territory.
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