Israel mounted waves of pounding airstrikes in Beirut on Tuesday as its security cabinet was due to discuss a ceasefire deal with its Hezbollah foes that could take effect as soon as Wednesday.
A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic a deal could be reached, clearing the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the┬аGaza war┬аlast year.
Despite the possibility of an imminent diplomatic┬аbreakthrough, hostilities raged as Israel dramatically ramped up┬а
its campaign of airstrikes in Beirut and other parts of┬аLebanon.
A Hezbollah parliament member in Lebanon, Hassan Fadlallah, said the country faced “dangerous, sensitive hours” during the wait for a possible ceasefire announcement.
With the security cabinet due to meet to discuss the deal, which a senior Israeli official had said was likely to be approved, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would speak on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. A government official said the cabinet meeting had started.
Israeli approval of the deal would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, four┬аsenior Lebanese sources┬аtold Reuters on Monday.
The ceasefire could come into effect on Wednesday morning, triggering a 60-day truce, a Western diplomat said.
No indication truce in Lebanon would secure Gaza ceasefire
However, there was no indication that a truce in Lebanon would hasten a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in devastated Gaza, where Israel is battling Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.
Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.
After months of escalating violence, a ceasefire deal in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah is reportedly тАШvery close.тАЩ IsraelтАЩs war cabinet is believed to be preparing to vote on the terms of the deal.
Israel demands effective UN┬аenforcement of an eventual ceasefire with Lebanon and will show “zero tolerance” toward any infraction, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
The UN┬аrights chief voiced concern┬аabout the escalation of hostilities in┬аLebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.
Cluster of strikes in Beirut kills at least 10
Israeli warplanes launched repeated strikes across Beirut throughout Tuesday, mostly in the southern suburbs that are a stronghold for Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A single cluster of strikes in Beirut that Israel’s military said included attacks on 20 targets in just 120 seconds killed at least 10 people and injured 37, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
Israel also gave advance notice for the first time of strikes in the central Beirut area, a significant escalation of its campaign in the capital that sparked panic among residents with some fleeing north.
Strikes also targeted Tyre, in the south, and Baalbek, in the east.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.
Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel and has previously said it would respond to attacks on central Beirut by firing rockets at Tel Aviv. Sirens sounded in northern Israel and the Israeli military said five projectiles were identified coming from Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched some 250 rockets on Sunday in one of its heaviest barrages yet. The northern Israeli city of Nahariya came under more rocket fire overnight.
Israel can┬аstrike southern┬аLebanon under any┬аdeal: ambassador
Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since going on the offensive against the group in September, killing leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and pounding areas of┬аLebanon┬аwhere the group holds sway.
“Regarding the ceasefire, I think it will be implemented. Both sides are tired,” said Selim Ayoub, a 37-year-old mechanic from Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Diplomacy to end the fighting has focused on restoring a ceasefire based on UN┬аSecurity Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on Monday that Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern┬аLebanon┬аunder any agreement.
Lebanon┬аhas previously objected to Israel being granted such a right, and Lebanese officials have said such language is not included in the draft proposal.
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel has a side agreement with the U.S. allowing it to take action in┬аLebanon┬аagainst “imminent threats.”
More than 3,750 killed in strikes on Lebanon
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said that while there were other missions Israel could undertake in┬аLebanon┬аto dismantle Hezbollah, it preferred a diplomatic solution if possible.
Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed in┬аLebanon┬аand over one million have been forced from their homes, according to┬аLebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
The widespread destruction left by Israeli airstrikes has brought into focus a huge reconstruction bill┬аawaiting cash-strapped┬аLebanon, with many left homeless heading into winter.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has denied the existence of Palestinians. Former Canadian ambassadors Arif Lalani and Jon Allen discuss how that changes the calculations in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in combat in southern┬аLebanon, according to Israeli authorities.
A ceasefire would pave the way for 60,000 people to return to homes in northern Israel, which they evacuated as Hezbollah began firing rockets in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas a day after that group’s Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
Israel says it aims at military targets in┬аLebanon┬аand Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas in Gaza, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.
