Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal is close, say both sides

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah look set to reach a ceasefire deal on Tuesday, Israeli and Lebanese officials said. The deal would clear the way for an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war 14 months ago.

A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic that a deal could be reached, cooling a second front for Israel's military that is also battling the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Israel's security cabinet is likely to approve a text at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a senior Israeli official.

This would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to senior Lebanese sources.

At a foreign policy conference in Rome, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib expressed hope that a deal to end the deadliest spillover from the Gaza war could be sealed by Tuesday night.

The agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon's army to deploy in the region - a Hezbollah stronghold - within 60 days, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.

Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the U.S. could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.

In Washington, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday, "We're close" but "nothing is done until everything is done". The French presidency said discussions had made significant progress.

Israel demands effective UN enforcement of an eventual ceasefire with Lebanon and will show "zero tolerance" toward any infraction, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

The agreement with Lebanon will maintain Israel's freedom of operation there to act in defense to remove threats posed by Hezbollah and enable displaced residents to return safely to their homes in northern Israel, said Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer.

Signs of a diplomatic breakthrough have been accompanied by a military escalation. Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday demolished more of Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, while the armed group has kept up rocket fire into Israel.

The widespread destruction left by Israeli airstrikes has brought into focus a huge reconstruction bill awaiting cash-strapped Lebanon, with more than 1 million people displaced and many left homeless heading into winter.

In Israel, a ceasefire will pave the way for 60,000 people to return to homes in the north, which they evacuated as Hezbollah began firing rockets in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas a day after that group's October 7, 2023 assault.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since going on the offensive against the group in September, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and pounding areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway.

Rocket fire

Hezbollah launched 250 rockets on Sunday in one of its heaviest barrages yet. The northern Israeli city of Nahariya came under more rocket fire overnight.

The Israeli Defence Forces said it had reached the Litani River in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, as well as the Wadi Saluki area, for the first time since 2000 when Israel left southern Lebanon.

Diplomacy to end the fighting has focused on restoring a ceasefire based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said on Monday that Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement. Lebanon has previously objected to Israel being granted such a right, and Lebanese officials have said such language is not included in the draft proposal.

Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel has a side agreement with the U.S. allowing it to take action in Lebanon against "imminent threats."

Senior Hezbollah official Mohammad Raad, writing in a Lebanese newspaper on Tuesday, said it was unlikely Israel would "accept any talk about halting its aggression against Lebanon without pressure or without exhausting the option of using force on the ground."

Hezbollah, seen as a terrorist group by Washington, has endorsed its ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate.

Catalyst

Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed in Lebanon and over one million have been forced from their homes, according to Lebanon's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.

U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will be in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss using a potential Lebanon ceasefire as a catalyst for a deal to end hostilities in Gaza, the White House said.

The EU's foreign policy chief urged the Israeli government on Tuesday to back a proposed ceasefire deal in Lebanon which he said has all the necessary security guarantees for Israel.

Speaking at a G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Italy, Josep Borrell said there was no excuse for not implementing the deal with Iran-backed Hezbollah, adding pressure should be exerted on Israel to approve it immediately.