Israel and Hezbollah edge closer to ceasefire deal in Lebanon

Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting ever since Hamas’s cross-border assault into Israel on 7 October 2023

Thick smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday (AP)

The US and France are set to announce a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel imminently.

French president Emmanuel Macron said significant progress had been made on ceasefire discussions while White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said they were “close” to fruition.

The Shia militia and Israel have exchanged near-daily rocket fire across the southern Lebanon border since Hamas launched its cross-border attack into southern Israel on 7 October last year.

On 1 October 2024, Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon and has carried out airstrikes across Beirut, killing senior Hezbollah commanders.

But the exchange of fire could come to an end with Israel’s cabinet to meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday to approve a truce deal with Hezbollah, according to a senior Israeli official, news agency Reuters has reported.

Reports of a ceasefire come as Israeli airstrikes levelled more of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday (AP)

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has declined to comment on the reports.

US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said gaps between the two parties had narrowed significantly but there were still steps needed to reach an agreement.

“Often times the very last stages of an agreement are the most difficult because the hardest issues are left to the end,” he said. “We are pushing as hard as we can.”

Israeli airstrikes hit southern Beirut on Monday, following a weekend of attacks targeting central Beirut (AP)

Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab said the proposal would entail an Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon.

In exchange, regular Lebanese army troops would be deployed in the border region, long a Hezbollah stronghold, within 60 days.

A sticking point over who would monitor compliance with the ceasefire was resolved in the last 24 hours with an agreement to set up a five-country committee, including France and chaired by the United States, he said.

Despite diplomatic progress, hostilities have intensified. Over the weekend, Israel carried out powerful airstrikes, one of which killed at least 29 people in central Beirut, while Hezbollah unleashed one of its biggest rocket salvos yet on Sunday, firing 250 missiles into Israel.

In Beirut, Israeli airstrikes levelled more of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs on Monday, sending clouds of debris billowing over the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks killed 31 people and wounded 62 across the country on Monday.

Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed and over one million have been forced from their homes, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

Israel has dealt major blows to Hezbollah, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and inflicting massive destruction in Lebanon in areas where the group holds sway.

Israel says its military offensive is aimed at enabling tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes they evacuated when Hezbollah began firing across the Lebanese border into Israel more than a year ago.