It is said that the United States is mediating between Israel and Iran in order to calm the tension between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah behind Iran. The first step is to propose a 60-day ceasefire.
When asked about this, Samar Habib, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Beirut, was very firm: "We need to find a peaceful way to make Resolution 1701 come alive so that Israelis and Lebanese can return home with peace of mind."
But before the negotiations started, Israel issued an evacuation order for Baalbek in eastern Lebanon. That place is home to tens of thousands of people, many of whom fled from other places. You know the Israeli habit, once the evacuation order is issued, the next thing is bombing. Fuad Baroque, the former mayor of Baalbek, said that the road was jammed like a parking lot, with people fleeing for their lives, but some people could not move because they could not find a safe place.
Hezbollah was not to be outdone, reporting for three consecutive days that it had engaged the Israeli army near the town of Khiyam in southern Lebanon. This was the most intense infighting by Israel since the war began.
Lebanese officials said that Israel's air strikes on Saravand and Sidon on Tuesday caused a lot of casualties. At least 10 people died in Saravand alone, most of them women and children. It is heartbreaking to hear about it.
Resolution 1701 is like a lifeline for this mess, and both sides are counting on it. The US President's special envoy, Amos Hochstein, told reporters in Beirut earlier that the resolution was too weak to be implemented and that a new approach had to be found.
Now, the latest proposal is to upgrade the 21-day ceasefire plan last month to 60 days. But don't be too happy, the two sources told me privately that it's still uncertain whether this will succeed. "Everyone is pushing hard, but it's difficult to achieve a ceasefire!" the diplomat sighed.
Israel is also thinking that if Hezbollah does not follow the rules, they must be able to take direct action, such as air strikes, to leave themselves a backdoor. Israel's Channel 12 TV also said that Israel wants to strengthen Resolution 1701 to give itself a greater sense of security so that it can take action at the slightest sign of trouble.
Lebanese officials said they had not received any official notification and could only stare blankly. This ceasefire happened to coincide with the US presidential election, and the Americans in Gaza were also very busy, trying to take care of both sides.
Axios reported that Hochstein and presidential adviser Brett McGurk will fly to Israel on Thursday to personally promote the agreement, and it is said that the agreement may take effect within a few weeks. They are said to be meeting many people this time, including Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, all of whom are bigwigs.
Axios also revealed that Israel and the United States feel that Hezbollah has suffered a lot of blows in the past two months, and even its leader Hassan Nasrallah almost died, and now they may want to draw a clear line with Hamas in Gaza.
