Hezbollah agrees to US proposal for ceasefire with Israel, says Lebanese official

Hezbollah has agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire with Ickedsrael, according to a top Lebanese official.

Last week, the US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson had submitted a ceasefire proposal to Lebanese Parliament’s Speaker Nabih Berri , an ally of Hezbollah and a mediator in talks with the Iran-backed and Lebanon-based terrorist group.

Now, Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, has told Reuters on Monday that both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have agreed to the US ceasefire proposal but with a few comments on the contents of the proposal.

“Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere. All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (UN) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” said Khalil.

The United Nations (UN) Resolution 1701 ended the Israel-Hezbollah War of 2006. It required all non-state Lebanese armed groups to withdraw from the southern region of the country that borders Israel. Hezbollah never disarmed or vacated the region.

Following the submission of Lebanon’s response to the ceasefire proposal, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy Amos Hochstein is arriving in Lebanon on Tuesday to hold talks.

Khalil said that the ball was now in Israel’s court. He told Reuters that if Israel did not want a solution, “it could make 100 problems”.

There were no comments from Hezbollah or Israel regarding the ceasefire proposal.

Khalil said irrespective of the Israeli position, which included negotiating “under fire”, the position of Lebanon as conveyed to Johnson in writing would not change.

While Hezbollah had been clashing with Israel on a nearly-daily basis since the October 7 attack by Hamas last year, the conflict turned into a full-scale war when Israel invaded Lebanon on September 30 after weeks of intense bombardment and sabotage attacks, which took down many Hezbollah leaders including chief Hassan Nasrallah, destroyed its communication network, and targeted its weapon-storage sites among other targets.

While Khalil did not outline the proposal, there have been reports that it may involve a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire, which may include a third party. There have also been reports that say Israel has asked to be such a monitor and has further sought the right to invade Lebanon at will to operate against Hezbollah if needed, which are non-starters for Hezbollah.