US submits ceasefire proposal to end Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon: Report

For the first time in the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, the United States has submitted a ceasefire proposal, according to a report.

While Hezbollah had been clashing with Israel on a near-daily basis since the October 7 attack last year, Israel launched a full-fledged ground invasion 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, according to Reuters.

Berri is an ally of Hezbollah and is mediator for diplomatic contacts with the Iran-backed terrorist group.

“It is a draft to get observations from the Lebanese side,” said one of the sources to Reuters.

What do we know of Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire proposal?

While sources did not say the specific of the ceasefire proposal, some information about the broader approach has trickled in recent days.

Draft proposals leaked lately have included the creation of a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire, potentially including other countries, according to Reuters.

Separately, The Jerusalem Post reported that there is agreement on certain elements of the deal on the table, but sharp disagreements remain over Israel’s demand to have the right to enter Lebanon to operate against Hezbollah if needed.

Lebanese officials told Reuters that “direct enforcement” of any ceasefire by Israel has not been formally conveyed, but that it would be rejected.

“The idea that Israel can enforce at any time - that is unthinkable,” said a source to the agency on Thursday.

So far, efforts for a ceasefire have centred around better implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1701, which ended the Isreal-Hezbollah War of 2006. It mandated that Hezbollah and all other non-state Lebanese armed groups should withdraw from southern Lebanon. As Hezbollah continued to remain in the region, the resolution was never properly enforced.

‘Agreement insufficient if can’t be implemented on ground’

In his conversation with visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, 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”, according to The Post.

At the same time, Sa’ar noted that an agreement alone was insufficient unless it was “implemented on the ground”, as per the paper.

Any ceasefire would need to enforce “Hezbollah’s non-return to the border area with Israel” as well as “preventing future armament” such as “strengthening of Hezbollah through the Syrian border or other means”, reported the paper.