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Senior US officials have said overnight they expect a ceasefire deal to be implemented “in the coming hours” along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Speaking to reporters in a late-night, last-minute phone briefing, the US administration officials said that exhaustive behind-the-scenes diplomacy had brought an agreement between the two sides close.

One administration official said: “The ceasefire will be for 21 days along the blue line. During those 21 days, the parties will negotiate towards a potential resolution of the conflict that has been ongoing since Hezbollah launched the attack on 8 October, and to reach a comprehensive agreement along the blue line that allows for residents to return to their home in both Lebanon and Israel.”

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Britons told to leave Lebanon

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The official emphasised that this ceasefire proposal was for the northern border only and did not extend to Gaza where Israel’s military offensive against Hamas continues but that a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would create the “space” for progress in Gaza.

“It buys some time and space to try to pursue an arrangement in Gaza along the lines of the hostage deal we’ve been discussing,” the US official said.

“We believe, regardless of what has happened on the battlefield over the last several days, the moment we feel is now to achieve that diplomatic resolution; to get there.”

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The optimistic suggestion of a ceasefire “in the coming hours” follows a joint statement released by the US, UK, Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar which called for the immediate 21-day ceasefire.

“It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety,” the statement said, as it warned that “diplomacy, however, cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict.”

It’s not clear whether Israel or Hezbollah will agree to the ceasefire. Israel has stated its determination to remove the threat from southern Lebanon.

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Comedian’s son leaving Beirut amid conflict

Asked about this, the US administration official said: “We have had this conversation with the parties… they’re familiar with the texts and we’ll let them speak to their actions. We’re expecting the deal in the coming hours.”

Hezbollah, which is a non-state group aligned with Iran, has been firing into Israel from Lebanon since 8 October in support of Hamas in Gaza.

Israel’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah with assassinations and last week’s pager and walkie-talkie attacks pushed the conflict to a new level with all-out regional war a step closer.

Even if the Israeli government can be persuaded to pause its military objectives, there is no guarantee Hezbollah would do the same. The group’s leader Hasan Nasrallah has pledged that attacks would continue until Israel stops attacking Gaza.

The US and other diplomats have been negotiating with the official Lebanese government and not directly with Hezbollah which they consider to be a terrorist group.

“We negotiate with the sovereign state of Lebanon. They are responsible in speaking for the state of Lebanon and for everything that happens on that side of the border,” the US administration official said.

Analysis: A real chance for peace – or just the same old song?

There is an element of deja-vu about this.

We’ve been here many times before, albeit with the other end of this conflict – Gaza.

American officials and the president himself have, so many times, said ceasefires and pauses are close, only to be let down by one side or the other.

This is a different situation for sure.

There are no hostages involved in the Israel-Hezbollah end of this conflict and Israel may feel that it’s had such spectacular success in degrading Hezbollah – with the assassinations and exploding pagers, that it’s militarily and diplomatically smart to pause now.

Will Hezbollah think the same? Or their masters in Iran? Maybe they will have no choice. They have taken an unprecedented beating over the past two weeks – at significant cost to civilians.

If there is a ceasefire along the Lebanon-Israel in the coming hours, as the Americans suggest, then it certainly does provide the space to get back to solving the Gaza nightmare.

It would also give the United Nations, in its biggest week of the year – the General Assembly, a sense of purpose and relevance; diplomacy works.

Israeli PM Netanyahu is speaking in the UN chamber later on Thursday. We’ll see how he reacts to the ceasefire calls and how he frames the conflict all as he addresses a body he rails against as ineffective and anti-Israeli.

“Who they negotiate with and deal with, as far as the non-state actors in Lebanon, I think they’re aware of the responsibility that they have to speak on behalf of the country or the state.

“So our expectation is when the government of Lebanon or when the government of Israel both accept this, this will carry and be implemented as a ceasefire on both sides.”

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Tensions high as Lebanon faces possible ground assault
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The potential breakthrough came at the end of a day when confused reports from Israel suggested Israeli ground troops might be preparing an invasion of southern Lebanon.

A US Department of Defence spokesperson later said the Pentagon had seen no suggestion of an imminent Israeli operation.

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‘It’s a war’: Meet the volunteers leading the fight against Trump’s ICE raids

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'It's a war': Meet the volunteers leading the fight against Trump's ICE raids

It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.

A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.

A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.

The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.

Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”

Francisco “Chavo” Romero, Union del Barrio, a volunteer group, attempting to spot immigration officials
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Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids

This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.

Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.

Federal immigration agents toss tear gas at protesters during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo, Calif
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Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP

Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.

“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.

The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.

Ron, a high school history teacher, driving in LA trying to spot ICE officials
Image:
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents

They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.

“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.

An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”

Man selling fruit on a street in LA
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This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents

In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.

ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.

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In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids

Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.

The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.

Maria whose husband Javier was one of those arrested in Los Angeles
Image:
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired

She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.

“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”

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US troops accused of ‘political stunt’ after park raid

Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”

The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.

Maria's husband Javier was one of those arrested in Los Angeles.
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Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico

“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”

The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.

A sign asking people to report sightings of ICE officials in LA
Image:
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned

I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.

She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.

All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.

Read more from Sky News:
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant in Hollywood
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive

“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.

“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”

There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.

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Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.

“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”

The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.

The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.

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Q&A: Should there be an age limit on the presidency?

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Q&A: Should there be an age limit on the presidency?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Mark Stone and Martha Kelner answer your listener questions.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

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Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Two people are dead after multiple people were injured in shootings in Kentucky, the state’s governor has said.

Andy Beshear said the suspect had also been killed following the shooting at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington.

A state trooper was earlier shot at Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County on Sunday morning, the Lexington Herald-Leader local newspaper reports.

Mr Beshear has said a state trooper “from the initial stop” and people who were injured in the church shooting are “being treated at a nearby hospital”.

The extent of the injuries is not immediately known.

State troopers and the Lexington Police Department had caught up with the suspect at the church following the shooting in Fayette County, according to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

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Mr Beshear said: “Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence, and let’s give thanks for the swift response by the Lexington Police Department and Kentucky State Police.”

The Blue Grass Airport posted on X at 1pm local time (6pm UK time) that a law enforcement investigation was impacting a portion of an airport road, but that all flights and operations were now proceeding normally.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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