A top Iranian official holds talks in Lebanon about the war between Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT — A top Iranian official pledged his country’s continued support for Lebanon following talks Friday with Lebanese leaders over the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah, which emerged as the United States continued to actively push both sides to agree to a new ceasefire the-fire.

Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said he hoped conditions in Lebanon would improve soon so displaced people could return home.

“The main purpose of our visit is to say loudly that we will support the Lebanese government and its people,” Larijani told reporters after separate meetings with parliament speaker Nabih Berri and interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

The US has been trying to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which took place as the thirteen-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. war with Hamas expanded in September to southern and eastern Lebanon and to the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran, and Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 ignited the war in Gaza.

According to Lebanese media reports, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson handed over a draft of a proposed deal to end the Israeli-Hezbollah war to parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who led the talks representing Hezbollah.

A Lebanese official confirmed Friday that Johnson visited Berri, but declined to say whether a draft had been handed over.

Another Lebanese official confirmed that Beirut has received a copy of a draft proposal that the US considers appropriate to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war in the summer of 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The official gave no details other than to say that Israel insisted that some guarantees be included.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing talks.

The US embassy declined to confirm or deny the reports.

Larijani flew on Friday from neighboring Syria, where he held similar talks with President Bashar Assad a day earlier. Syria’s state news agency said Assad and Larijani discussed the “ongoing aggression against Palestine and Lebanon and the need to stop it.”

In addition to supporting Hamas, Iran is one of Hezbollah’s top backers and has been financing and arming the Lebanese militant group for decades.

Asked if he was visiting to try to thwart US efforts to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Larijani said: “We are not trying to blow up any effort, but we want to solve the problem and we will support Lebanon , regardless of the circumstances. ”

Larijani’s visit to the Lebanese capital was interrupted by a renewed airstrike by Israel on the southeastern edge of the city.

A photo taken by an Associated Press photographer showed what appeared to be an 11-story residential building in the Tayouneh area, several miles from downtown Beirut, about to be hit by a bomb and then burst into flames.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the bomb hit a lower level of the building, reducing much of it to rubble. The Israeli military had issued a warning ahead of the attack, claiming it was a facility belonging to Hezbollah.

Funerals were held Friday for 11 people killed Thursday in a series of Israeli airstrikes in and around the city of Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip.

The injured and dead were all taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where they were seen by an AP reporter. Two children were among the dead.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Friday that a total of 28 people had been killed and 120 injured in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday, the ten elected members of the United Nations Security Council circulated a draft resolution demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza as well.

The draft resolution, which was sent to the council’s five permanent members, reiterates the council’s demand “for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” seized during Hamas’s surprise attacks on southern Israel. Israel says around 100 are still being held, although not all are believed to be alive.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the Security Council will adopt the resolution. The four other permanent members – Russia, China, Britain and France – are expected to support or abstain from the proposal.

The draft, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, also calls for immediate access for Gaza’s civilian population to humanitarian aid and services essential to their survival.

The draft resolution would also express the council’s “deep concern about the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the lack of adequate health care services and the state of food insecurity that poses a risk of famine, particularly in the north.”

It would deplore all attacks on civilians and “civilian objects” and all acts of terrorism.

The Israel-Hamas war started after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping 250 others.

Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. Officials do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but say more than half of the dead are women and children.

Hezbollah began shooting at Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict broke out, more than 3,200 people have died and more than 14,000 injured in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.

Lebanon also suffered some $8.5 billion in physical damage and economic losses, according to a World Bank report Thursday.

In the town of Douris near the town of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon on Friday, rescue teams continued to search through the rubble at the site of an Israeli attack that hit a civil defense center the night before.

The Lebanese Civil Defense said in a statement that 13 bodies, all employees and volunteers of the emergency services, have been recovered, as well as some other remains requiring DNA testing.

The General Directorate of Civil Protection expressed “deep regret at this direct attack on its members” in a statement and said its centers “will continue to respond to calls for help and continue with its humanitarian mission, no matter how great the challenges and sacrifices. .”

_____

Riot reported from Bangkok. Abby Sewell in Beirut and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.