Last update:November 26, 2024, 6:20 p.m. IST

Israeli Minister Sharren Haskel said the security cabinet would meet to discuss the fine print of the truce deal.

A Lebanese firefighter works at the scene of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Burj al-Brajneh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (IMAGE: AFP)

Israel’s security cabinet was due to discuss a proposed cease-fire in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon, a senior official said, after the White House expressed optimism that negotiations would be reached. ‘an agreement.

The United States, European Union and United Nations have been pushing to end long-running hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into full-scale war in late September.

As truce talks have intensified, cross-border firefights between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have also increased, with Israel reporting around 250 projectiles launched into its territory on Sunday alone.

On Tuesday, strikes hit the Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut, shortly after the Israeli army called on the population to evacuate.

AFPTV footage showed multiple plumes of smoke rising from the area, a day after Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes had killed 31 people, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Diplomatically, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said Tuesday that the security cabinet would meet later in the day to discuss a ceasefire agreement, although she declined ” to go into detail about this due to the sensitivity of the issue.

An Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity previously said the security cabinet would make its decision Tuesday evening.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday that talks were progressing but were not yet finalized, although they had reached a “point where we are close.”

The United States and France have taken the lead in efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.

The American newspaper Axios reported that the draft agreement provided for a transition period of 60 days.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces would withdraw, the Lebanese army would redeploy near the border and Hezbollah would move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River, Axios explained.

A U.S.-led committee would oversee implementation, with provisions allowing Israel to act against imminent threats if Lebanese forces did not intervene.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the UN envoy to Lebanon on Tuesday that his country would have “zero tolerance” in defending its security interests, even after a truce.

“If you don’t act, we will, forcefully,” Katz told envoy Janine Hennis-Plasschaert during a meeting in Tel Aviv, according to a statement from his office.

Make a “mistake”

Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely support the US ceasefire proposal.

The war in Lebanon follows nearly a year of limited cross-border firefights initiated by Hezbollah. The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas after the Palestinian group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the Gaza war.

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

On the Israeli side, hostilities in Lebanon have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, according to the authorities.

The initial exchanges of fire forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes, and Israeli officials said they were fighting for residents to return safely.

Some northerners questioned whether this would be possible under a ceasefire.

“In my opinion, it would be a big mistake to sign an agreement until Hezbollah is completely eliminated,” said Maryam Younnes, 29, a student at Maalot-Tarshiha.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir warned on X that reaching a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon would be a “historic missed opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”

But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Israel had “no more excuses” to refuse a deal.

“Digging among the rubble”

Sustained efforts this year by mediators to secure a truce and agreement on the release of hostages in the Gaza war have failed.

Qatar announced earlier this month that it was suspending its mediation role until the warring parties showed “seriousness”.

In Gaza, the civil defense agency said Tuesday that 11 people were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.

With the violence showing no signs of stopping, Gaza residents were left “searching through the rubble” for food, said Louise Wateridge, a spokeswoman for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. UNRWA.

Such conditions put people at risk of encountering unexploded and unused ordnance which can be found in many populated areas of the territory, the Danish Refugee Council said.

The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 left 1,207 dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

That toll includes an Israeli soldier who was wounded in the Hamas attack and died Tuesday from his injuries more than a year later, the army said.

Israel’s campaign of retaliation has killed 44,249 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled territory’s Health Ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)

Location :

Jerusalem, undefined