Washington says a Lebanon ceasefire is ‘close’, in ‘optimistic’ update
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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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.”
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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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.
“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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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.
Police officers found a handgun, a silencer and a red notebook described as a “manifesto” when they arrested Luigi Mangione.
The 27-year-old was arrested in December 2024 and charged with killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City.
Mangione‘s lawyers want to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors at his eventual trial in Manhattan about statements he allegedly made and items they said police seized from his backpack during his arrest at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
The objects include a 9mm handgun prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a healthcare executive.
Mangione with his attorney. Pic: Reuters
The defence contends the items should be excluded because police did not get a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.
Prosecutors deny claims Mangione was illegally searched and questioned.
They also want to suppress some statements he made to police, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers asked him questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Last week, Mangione watched surveillance videos of the killing of Mr Thompson, 50, as he walked to a New York City hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges.
The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
This week’s hearing concerns only the state case, but Mangione’s lawyers want to bar evidence from both cases.
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In September, a judge dismissed two terrorism counts against Mangione, finding prosecutors had not presented enough evidence Mangione intended to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy.
Trial dates are yet to be set in either the state or federal cases.
Paramount has launched a £108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros, challenging Netflix, which had reached a $72bn takeover deal with the company.
Paramount said on Monday that it was going straight to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shareholders with a $30 per share in cash offer for the entirety of the company, including its Global Networks segment, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix.
On Friday Netflix struck a deal to buy WBD, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max
The agreement means Warner Bros Discovery’s library of film and TV successes including Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones will come under the same roof as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt.
But Paramount says its deal will pay $30 cash per share, representing $18 billion more in cash than its rivals are offering.
In a statement, Paramount said it was making a “strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders” and a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction”.
File pic: iStock
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.
“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.
“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process.
“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to WBD in the course of 12 weeks, but that they were never “meaningfully” engaged with.
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