US working for 60-day truce to end war in Lebanon, sources say - News

Vehicles are stuck along a road as residents of Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek evacuate from the Bekaa Valley town on October 30, 2024, following a statement from the Israeli army spokesman warning residents of coming attacks. —AFP

US mediators are working on a proposal to end hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, starting with a 60-day ceasefire, two sources said on Wednesday. However, Israel continued its offensive and ordered residents to evacuate the eastern city of Baalbek in Lebanon.

The sources – a person briefed on the talks and a senior diplomat working in Lebanon – told Reuters that the two-month period would be used to complete the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to keep southern Lebanon free of weapons outside the country. state control.

The latest attempt comes as Israel’s operation against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to expand. The army on Wednesday issued its first evacuation order for Baalbek, home to tens of thousands of mainly Shiite Lebanese, including many who had fled other areas.

Such announcements are usually followed by bombings, and Governor Bachir Khodr called on residents to evacuate north.

Bilal Raad, regional head of Lebanon’s Civil Defense, said the largely volunteer force had called on residents to leave through megaphones after receiving calls from someone identifying himself as a member of the Israeli army.

“People are all over each other, the whole city is panicking trying to figure out where to go, there’s a huge traffic jam,” he said.

Some areas they are fleeing to are already full of displaced people.

Antoine Habchi, a lawmaker representing Christian-majority Deir Al Ahmar in northwest Baalbek, said more than 10,000 people had already taken shelter in homes, schools and churches before Wednesday’s evacuation order.

“We obviously welcome everyone, but we need immediate help from the government so that these people are not left out in the cold,” he told Reuters.

For the third day in a row, Hezbollah reported heavy fighting with Israeli forces in or around the southern city of Khiyam – the deepest Israeli forces are believed to have entered Lebanon since the fighting began.

Israeli attacks on Sarafand in southern Lebanon killed at least 10 people on Tuesday – most of them women and children – while a separate attack on the port city of Sidon killed at least five people and injured 37, Lebanese authorities said.

Resolution 1701 has been the cornerstone of talks to end the past year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which broke out in parallel with the war in Gaza and has escalated dramatically over the past five weeks.

“We would like to reiterate that we are seeking a diplomatic resolution that fully implements 1701 and returns both Israeli and Lebanese citizens to their homes on both sides of the border,” said Sama Habib, spokesperson for the US Embassy in Beirut, when asked about the reported proposal.

US presidential envoy Amos Hochstein, who is working on the new ceasefire proposal, told reporters in Beirut earlier this month that better enforcement mechanisms were needed as neither Israel nor Lebanon had fully implemented the resolution.

The two sources told Reuters that the 60-day truce last month replaced a proposal from the United States and other countries that had envisioned a 21-day ceasefire as a prelude to 1701’s full entry into force.

However, both warned that the deal could still fail. “There is a serious attempt to reach a ceasefire, but it is still difficult to achieve it,” the diplomat said.

The person briefed on the talks said Israel is still pushing for the option to carry out “direct enforcement” of the ceasefire through airstrikes or other military operations against Hezbollah if it violates the deal.

Israeli television channel Channel 12 reported that Israel was seeking a strengthened version of UN Resolution 1701 to allow Israel to intervene if its security felt threatened.

Lebanon had not yet been formally informed of the proposal and could not comment on its details, Lebanese officials said.

The push for a ceasefire for Lebanon comes days before the US presidential election and parallels a similar diplomatic move against Gaza.

Axios reported that Hochstein and US presidential adviser Brett McGurk will land in Israel on Thursday to try to seal the Lebanon deal, according to three unnamed sources.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli and US officials believe Hezbollah is finally ready to disengage from Hamas in Gaza after suffering major blows, including the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Axios report said.