U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese authorities in Beirut on Tuesday. While his visit does not guarantee a deal, it signals progress in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hezbollah.
According to the Lebanese official, the US-backed proposal aims to end hostilities for 60 days and serves as the basis for a permanent ceasefire. The terms are in line with UN Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Lebanon in 2006.
The resolution states that all armed groups should leave the area south of the Litani River in Lebanon, with the exception of the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces.
The Lebanese official also stated that the proposal necessitates the withdrawal of Israeli ground forces from southern Lebanon, which have been in operation since late September, and the stricter enforcement of resolution 1701.
An Israeli attack in central Beirut on Monday resulted in the deaths of at least five individuals and the injuries of 31 others in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry. This marks the third attack on the heart of the Lebanese capital in the past two days, taking place just hundreds of meters from the prime minister’s office and parliament.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees reported this weekend’s looting of nearly one hundred aid trucks in southern Gaza. UNRWA did not identify the perpetrators.
Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza have killed 17 members of one family.
A rocket attack in Israel on Monday killed at least one person and wounded several others in the northern Palestinian town of Shefa’Amr. The Israeli military reported that approximately five missiles crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon.
The US has implemented sanctions against the single largest settlement development organization in Israel. In contrast, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the position of US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has expressed his endorsement of Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories.
