ATEF SAFADI/EPA
Smoke, the consequence of an Israeli air strike on the village of Al-Khiam, in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu reportedly agreed to the US proposal for a 3-phase ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 3,000 people have died since Israel began its ground invasion of the south of the country.
Israeli media published news this Monday morning indicating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have agreed with the United States’ proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to unidentified sources cited by Israeli newspapers and television, Netanyahu will have accepted “in principle” Washington’s proposal after consultations with members of the government overnight on Sunday.
The proposal is not yet final and there are still a series of issues that need to be resolved, according to Israeli and American sources cited by Israel’s public television Kan and the newspapers Haaretz and Ynet. The Ynet newspaper indicates that Israel’s position has already been conveyed to Lebanon.
Ceasefire in 3 phases: “benefit for Israel”
A proposal includes three phases: a truce followed by the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River, the total withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on the demarcation of the border, currently a border established by the UN following the war in 2006.
The news also indicates that an international body led by the United States would monitor compliance with the ceasefire, although Israel expects to receive a guarantee from Washington confirming the right to act militarily if Hezbollah violates the terms of the agreement and if international or Lebanese forces do not act.
In the same framework, the Lebanese Army would be responsible for taking control of the border area and preventing the return of the Shiite Hezbollah movement.
According to the media, Netanyahu and his closest political circle are considering how to promote the agreement among Israeli public opinion, with the message that it is not a compromise, but rather a “benefit for Israel”.
A recent poll by Channel 12 shows that 64% of Israelis are in favor of a truce in Lebanon.
Joe Biden administration mediator between Israel and Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, was visiting Israel over the past weekend, after visiting Beirut insisting on a ceasefire.
The US envoy, who has already managed to get Israel — under the previous government of Yair Lapid — and Lebanon to reach an agreement (2022) on the demarcation of the maritime border and the sharing of the exploration of gas fields, warned the Israeli side of what this is the last chance for an agreement promoted by Washington.
If they do not reach an agreement, the parties will have to wait for the efforts of Donald Trump’s new administration, according to Israeli media.
Channel 12 also reported that former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, will travel to Jerusalem today “to iron out details.”
Hezbollah shows strength
On the ground, Hezbollah intensified attacks against Israel on Sunday, firing more than 250 projectiles.
The same media reports that Hezbollah’s military response was expected by Israel, at a time when the conclusion of an eventual pact is approaching, as a way of demonstrating that it still has the ability to attack.
Last weekend, Israel also intensified attacks on Dahye, the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital controlled by Hezbollah, and launched a powerful bomb against a building in the city center, killing at least eleven people.
