Lebanon truce deal ‘close’

Israel's security cabinet was preparing to decide whether to accept a proposed ceasefire in its war with Hezbollah, an official said yesterday, as the White House announced it believed a deal to end the fighting in Lebanon was "close".

The United States, European Union and United Nations have all been actively pushing in recent days for a truce in the long-running hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which flared into all-out war in late September.

Lebanon says at least 3,768 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them in the past few weeks.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official told AFP that the country's security cabinet "will decide on Tuesday evening on the ceasefire deal".

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby expressed optimism over the prospects for a truce but said talks were ongoing.

"We believe we've reached this point where we're close," Kirby told reporters, adding "we're not there yet".

The United States repeatedly voiced optimism over talks on reaching a truce in the Gaza war this year but Israel is still fighting Hamas militants there even as it battles on the second front in Lebanon.

France, which alongside Washington has spearheaded efforts towards a Lebanon truce, on Monday reported "significant progress" in talks on a ceasefire. The French presidency urged Israel and Hezbollah to "seize this opportunity."

The US news site Axios had previously reported the parties were nearing an agreement that would involve a 60-day transition period in which the Israeli army would pull back, the Lebanese army would redeploy near the border and Iran-backed Hezbollah would withdraw its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.

The draft agreement also provides for the establishment of a US-led committee to oversee implementation, as well as US assurances that Israel can take action against imminent threats if the Lebanese military does not, according to Axios.

News of the security cabinet meeting came as the Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes yesterday, including on Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah that Israel has repeatedly bombed since late September when it escalated its air campaign in Lebanon.

The latest strikes targeted "command centres, and intelligence control and collection centres, where Hezbollah commanders and operatives were located", the military said in a statement.

They followed an intense salvo of Hezbollah fire over the weekend, with the group claiming 50 attacks against Israel on Sunday, including some deep inside its territory.

Recent days have seen rising calls to end the fighting in Lebanon, with a senior UN official on Monday urging "the parties to accept a ceasefire".

And in Beirut on Sunday, top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate truce, days after US envoy Amos Hochstein said a deal was "within our grasp".

Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was likely to endorse a US ceasefire proposal.

Asked in New York about the possible ceasefire agreement, Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said "we are moving forward on this front", adding the cabinet would meet soon to discuss it.

Syrian state television reported Israeli strikes on several bridges in the Qusayr region near the Lebanese border yesterday. Israel accuses Hezbollah of using key routes for people fleeing the war in Lebanon to transfer weapons from Syria.