ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US special envoy Amos Hochstein said late Tuesday that a truce to bring the Israel-Hezbollah war to an end was “now within our grasp,” after he met top Lebanese officials to discuss a ceasefire proposal which Lebanon “positively” viewed.
The United States and France have led an international effort for a ceasefire in the Hezbollah and Israel war, a conflict that has intensified since late September. Both sides have engaged in nearly daily exchanges of fire.
"I'm here in Beirut to facilitate that decision, but it's ultimately the decision of the parties... It is now within our grasp,” Hochstein said after meeting Nabih Berri, the Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker of Lebanon.
Hochstein was optimistic that he saw “a real opportunity” for the war's end.
During his Tuesday trip to Beirut, the US envoy met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army chief Joseph Aoun.
Israel shifted the focus of its war from Gaza to Lebanon after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire.
More than 3,500 people have been killed since October last year, with the bulk of the casualties recorded since September 24, according to data from the Lebanese health ministry.
On Monday, a Lebanese government official told AFP that the government had "a very positive view" of the armistice proposal.
But, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that even if a truce was reached, Tel Aviv would press on with its cross-border strikes.
"We will be forced to ensure our security in the north and to systematically carry out operations against Hezbollah's attacks... even after a ceasefire,” Netanyahu said, adding there was no evidence that Hezbollah would abide by any truce.
Despite the ongoing efforts to bring the deadly war to an end, the fighting is still fierce, as daily cross-border exchanges of fires continue.
The Lebanese army announced three soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on one of their positions in south Lebanon on Tuesday evening.
Hezbollah has accelerated the launch of rockets, drones, and missiles into Israel in the course of the past few days. The group said they fired guided missiles Tuesday night at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
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