Amid the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, the United States has submitted a ceasefire proposal to Beirut.
Since the October 7 attack last year, Hezbollah has been clashing with Israel on a near-daily basis. A full-scale ground invasion was launched by Tel Aviv in Lebanon on September 30 after weeks of ramped-up aerial campaign.
US Lebanon envoy Lisa Johnson met Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday and submitted a written ceasefire proposal, reported Reuters.
Though the details of the proposal were not revealed, the draft proposals that have leaked lately include the creation of a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire. Reportedly, the ceasefire monitoring is to be done by other countries.
There is agreement on certain elements of the deal on the table, but there are sharp disagreements over Israel's demand to have the right to enter Lebanon to operate against Hezbollah if needed.
According to Lebanese officials, "direct enforcement" of any ceasefire by Israel would be rejected. "The idea that Israel can enforce at any time- that is unthinkable," a source told Reuters.
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So far, the efforts for a ceasefire have been centred around the implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1701, which ended the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006. As per the resolution, Hezbollah and all other non-state Lebanese armed groups should withdraw from southern Lebanon. However, the resolution was not properly enforced as Hezbollah never withdrew from the region.
Meanwhile, experts pointed out that Israel will not be willing to end the war with Hezbollah. Like in the case of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel will change its terms at the end when the ceasefire deal reaches a close, they opine.
Experts also noted that Hezbollah is unlikely to surrender and is prepared to fight Israel for a prolonged period.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar noted that “there had been progress and that there was a desire to reach an arrangement that would allow the residents of northern Israel to return to their homes safely,” reported The Post.
Earlier, the ceasefire proposal by the US government leaked revealed that Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon within the first week of a 60-day ceasefire and for the Lebanese army to "disarm" Hezbollah.