Lebanon, Israel could agree to ceasefire within days, Lebanese prime minister says

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Lebanon's prime minister expressed hope on Wednesday that a ceasefire deal with Israel would be announced within days as Israel's public broadcaster published what it said was a draft agreement providing for an initial 60-day truce.

The document, which broadcaster Kan said was a leaked proposal written by Washington, said Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within the first week of the 60-day ceasefire. It largely aligned with details reported earlier by Reuters based on two sources familiar with the matter.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he had not believed a deal would be possible until after Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. But he said he became more optimistic after speaking on Wednesday with U.S. envoy for the Middle East Amos Hochstein, who was due to travel to Israel on Thursday.

"Hochstein, during his call with me, suggested to me that we could reach an agreement before the end of the month and before Nov. 5th," Mikati told Lebanon's Al Jadeed television.

"We are doing everything we can and we should remain optimistic that in the coming hours or days, we will have a ceasefire," Mikati said.

The draft published by Kan was dated Saturday. When asked to comment, White House national security spokesperson Sean Savett said: "There are many reports and drafts circulating. They do not reflect the current state of negotiations.”

But Savett did not respond to a query on whether the version published by Kan was at least the basis for further negotiations.

The Israeli network said the draft had been presented to Israel's leaders. Israeli officials did not immediately comment.

Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have been fighting for the past year in parallel with Israel's war in Gaza after Hezbollah struck Israeli targets in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza.

The conflict in Lebanon has dramatically escalated over the last five weeks, with most of the 2,800 deaths reported by the Lebanese health ministry for the past 12 months occurring in that period.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the leaked ceasefire proposal.

Earlier on Wednesday, the group's new leader, Naim Qassem, said the Iran-backed armed group would agree to a ceasefire within certain parameters if Israel wanted to stop the war, but that Israel had so far not agreed to any proposal that could be discussed.

It was Qassem's first speech as secretary-general, a day after Hezbollah announced his election to the post after Israel assassinated the group's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.

ISRAEL STRIKES HISTORIC CITY

Israel's operation against heavily armed Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to expand on Wednesday as the Israeli army launched heavy airstrikes on the eastern city of Baalbek, famed for its Roman temples, and nearby villages, security sources told Reuters.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese, including many who sought shelter in Baalbek from other areas, fled after an Israeli evacuation warning.

Bilal Raad, regional head of the Lebanese civil defence, said the scene was chaotic. "The whole city is in a panic trying to figure out where to go, there's a huge traffic jam," he said ahead of the bombardment.

Lebanon's health ministry said 19 people were killed in Israeli strikes on two towns in the Baalbek area on Wednesday.

It said 2,822 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign in Lebanon since October 2023. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced.

Following the airstrikes, the Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah fuel reservoirs in the Bekaa Valley region.

Responding to a question about Israel's bombardment of Baalbek, the U.S. State Department reiterated on Wednesday that Washington supports Israel's right to go after legitimate Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. But it said Israel must do so in a way that does not threaten civilians, critical civilian infrastructure and significant cultural heritage sites.

For a third straight day, Hezbollah reported intense fighting with Israeli forces in or around the southern town of Khiyam - the deepest Israel's troops are reported to have penetrated into Lebanon since fighting escalated five weeks ago.

Hezbollah also said it had targeted a military camp southeast of Tel Aviv in Israel with missiles.

PLAN FOR PERMANENT CEASEFIRE

The White House said U.S. security official Brett McGurk would visit Israel on Thursday along with Hochstein. A U.S. official had said they would be there to discuss a range of issues "including Gaza, Lebanon, hostages, Iran and broader regional matters".

The Lebanese prime minister did not comment on the draft proposal published by the Israeli network, which called for a permanent ceasefire to take effect after the initial 60-day period based on implementation of United Nations resolutions 1701 and 1559.

Mikati said Lebanon was ready to fully implement 1701, passed in 2006, which directed the demilitarisation of southern Lebanon and established a U.N. peacekeeping mission there.

Earlier this month, Hochstein told reporters in Beirut that better mechanisms for enforcement were needed as neither Israel nor Lebanon had fully implemented the 18-year-old resolution. The draft leaked on Wednesday called for creating an independent, international arrangement to oversee the ceasefire.

Resolution 1559 was adopted in 2004 and called for disbanding and disarming all militias in Lebanon.

The push for a ceasefire for Lebanon is taking place alongside a similar diplomatic drive to end hostilities in Gaza.

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