BEIRUT—American, Lebanese and Israeli officials say they are closing in on an agreement to halt more than a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel that has destabilized Lebanon and displaced thousands of civilians from both sides of the border.
Israel’s security cabinet could discuss and approve the cease-fire agreement as soon as Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said. The parties warned against counting on a deal before it was done.
The deal on the table includes a 60-day implementation period to allow the Israeli military to withdraw and for the Lebanese armed forces to secure the area and prevent fighters from the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from re-establishing a presence there, according to Lebanese officials. An international committee along with United Nations peacekeepers would monitor compliance, they said.
“The cease-fire proposal is finalized, there are no further negotiations on any remaining conditions for the time being,” said Lebanon’s deputy speaker of parliament, Elias Bou Saab, who nevertheless expressed caution.
“The cease-fire agreement will be effective in the next coming days, but only if the Israeli cabinet approves it,” he said. “We in Lebanon remain skeptical as in the past all the experiences we had with the Israeli government were not promising.”
A U.S. official said the Biden administration has relayed Israel’s likely green light to Lebanon.
People walk past damaged buildings, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Yassin
“It’s looking good,” one of the Israeli officials said.
Still, Israel and the U.S. also conveyed caution. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that the U.S. is deeply involved in getting a cease-fire finalized but warned, “nothing is negotiated until everything is negotiated.”
Some of the people familiar with the matter said there could still be sticking points, including prior Israeli demands that its military preserve the ability to strike should Hezbollah pose new threats in Lebanon even after the signing of a deal.
In October, the Lebanese government and Hezbollah pushed back on a previous U.S.-backed proposal that granted Israel permission to continue striking Lebanon for a two-month period.
The apparent progress comes after months of diplomacy led by the White House and the Biden administration’s de facto envoy to the Lebanon crisis, Amos Hochstein , who last week visited Lebanon and Israel again in an attempt to achieve a deal. France also has pushed both sides to embrace a cease-fire.
The progress has been accompanied by large exchanges of fire, including a deadly Israeli strike on a residential building in central Beirut on Saturday and Hezbollah launching a heavy barrage on Israel on Sunday.
The cessation of hostilities would begin on the first day of the agreement following an announcement that would likely take place in Paris, Bou Saab said.
A monitoring committee headed by the U.S. along with France will help ensure implementation of the cease-fire, Bou Saab said. They would join an existing monitoring committee that includes the Lebanese government, Israel and the U.N. forces, he said.
