Israel edging closer to ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon – reports
Israel is said to be edging closer to a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to reports.
Israeli media outlets Haaretz, Walla, Ynet, Kan and American news website Axios reported both parties are getting closer to reaching a deal amid signs of progress in the US-led ceasefire talks.
It is suggested Israel has agreed to large parts of a ceasefire deal – but not all of it, yet.
An agreement could see an end to fighting that has seen more than 3,500 Lebanese killed and more than 15,000 injured in over a year.
Any potential agreement would also reportedly allow hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border to gradually return home, Axios reported.
It follows more airstrikes over the weekend which saw Hezbollah fire heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday.
Israel’s military said houses had been destroyed or set alight near Tel Aviv, after an Israeli airstrike killed at least 29 people in Beirut the day before.
Israel also struck Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.
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Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Kassem appeared to be open to a ceasefire with Israel during a speech last week.
He hinted at progress in the negotiations – and struck a positive tone looking ahead, saying: “We are thinking about the future of our country.”
Fighting began between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel the day after the 7 October Hamas attacks last year, and Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this year.
Reports claimed that the draft agreement included a 60-day transition period that would see the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) withdraw from southern Lebanon – where troops have been fighting the Iran-backed militant group.
It would also reportedly see Hezbollah move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River as the Lebanese army would deploy in areas close to the border – all in an effort to maintain peace.
Quoting a senior Israeli source, one news site said “the direction was positive” but that an agreement hadn’t been finalised.
Other reports added that an announcement was possible this week if things went to plan.
According to Axios, the draft agreement includes a US-led oversight committee to monitor implementation and address any potential violations.
It added the deal was nearing completion when the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant last Thursday.
A billboard in Iran depicts Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant in prison jumpsuits. Pic: Reuters
Ynet reported US envoy Amos Hochstein had informed Lebanon of Israel’s move towards agreeing to the settlement.
It added Mr Hochstein had previously made it clear to Israel that Lebanon had already agreed to the ceasefire before it did, and if this failed, no further efforts would be made before Donald Trump enters the White House in January.
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Israel reportedly moved towards a potential deal after Mr Netanyahu held a meeting with his most senior ministers and intelligence chiefs.
While this would not mark the first time reports have emerged claiming a ceasefire deal is close in the region, any such step would be an important one.
Reports added among the negotiations, Israel sought assurances from the US that it could react with force if Hezbollah broke the terms of the ceasefire.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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