It appears Netanyahu's reported "gift" of a Lebanon ceasefire in the wake of Trump's election victory is coming to fruition. Reuters and other international outlets are reporting that agreement on a US-proposed ceasefire has been reached.
"Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, a top Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday, describing the effort as the most serious yet to end to the fighting."
A Lebanese source, Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, has said "Lebanon had delivered its written response to the U.S. ambassador in Lebanon on Monday, and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was travelling to Beirut to continue talks," Reuters writes late in the day Monday.
Israel has yet to issue official comment, and much remains to be seen on whether it will actually take effect or hold:
"Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere," Khalil said, declining to give further details. "All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (U.N.) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions," he said.
It comes as a bit of a surprise, given how violent the past 24 hours have been on both sides of the border.
At least five Lebanese were killed Monday due to an Israeli strike on the Zuqaq al-Blat area, with casualty figures expected to increase amid an emergency response. Over 30 were injured in the attack, others remain missing.
On the Israeli side of the war-ravaged border area, Israeli sources are saying a number of Hezbollah missiles scored direct hits on civilian areas:
A woman was killed and at least 17 people were wounded in several rocket barrages fired by Hezbollah on Monday, as the terror group launched more than 100 rockets at northern Israel and one missile at the country’s center throughout the day.
The woman, identified as Safaa Awad, 41, was killed and dozens of others wounded in the evening by a rocket that hit a three-story building in the northern town of Shfar’am after Hezbollah fired five projectiles at the Galilee.
Among the wounded victims were a woman aged 41 and a 4-year-old boy in serious condition, Rambam Hospital in Haifa said.
The medical center said a total of 56 victims were brought for treatment, mostly for acute anxiety. Among the victims were 18 children, the hospital adds.
There was also a major Hezbollah missile strike on Tel Aviv Monday:
⚡️Impact on terrorists in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/68GYokrfHG
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 18, 2024
Israeli media has also picked up on the breaking report of the ceasefire deal, also emphasizing there's been no initial comment from the Israeli government:
Its terms require Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which runs some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the frontier — clauses the terror group violated from the get-go.
Khalil claims the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying if Israel did not want a solution, “it could make 100 problems.
Lebanese officials are now saying the ball is in Israel's court. Currently an Israeli ground offensive is still active, and Beirut has been heavily pummeled by Israel's aerial offensive, which has also reached into central and northeastern Lebanon of late, especially the Bekaa Valley.
Like with Ukraine, President-elect Trump is pledging to quickly bring to an end wars which have Washington involvement; however, in a phone call last month he told PM Netanyahu to “do what you have to do” against Hezbollah and Hamas.
One career US diplomat in the Middle East region was cited in WaPo as saying "Netanyahu has no loyalty to Biden and will be focused entirely on currying favor with Trump."
