Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein (C) and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. Hochstein arrived in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials on a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah. Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA-EFE
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said Tuesday “a real opportunity” to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict is “now within our grasp,” but both parties need to make the decision.
Hochstein, who arrived in Beirut, Lebanon, earlier Tuesday, said he held “very constructive talks” with House Speaker Nabih Berri, who is negotiating a U.S. cease-fire proposal on behalf of his ally, Hezbollah. Advertisement
Cease-fire talks have been focusing on the complete implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, but has not been fully respected by both parties since.
The resolution calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and its withdrawal to the north of the Litani River, the pullout of Israeli forces from Lebanese territories, and Army and U.N. peacekeeping troops to be the only force in charge of security in the southern border area. Advertisement
Israel has been trying to impose new conditions to secure more enforcement mechanisms and continue to have a free hand in Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah’s rearming and funding.
Lebanon rejected the Israeli conditions. saying they violate the country’s sovereignty, and insisted on the implementation of Resolution 1701 as is.
The truce talks also tackle a committee to supervise the cease-fire and deal with violations, as well as ways to control legal and illegal border points along the Syrian-Lebanese borders to prevent the smuggling of arms and funds to Hezbollah.
Under the proposal, Beirut port and airports should be fully controlled by Lebanese security forces.
Hochstein explained that discussions over the last few weeks focused on narrowing the gaps between Lebanon and Israel.
“And, specifically today, we continued to significantly narrow the gaps,” he told reporters after a two-hour meeting with Berri. “So, the meeting was very constructive and very helpful.”
Hochstein said he came back to Beirut because “we have a real opportunity” to end the raging war that killed an estimated 3,516 people and wounded 14,929 in Lebanon since October 2023.
“This is a moment of decision-making. I’m here in Beirut to facilitate that decision, but it’s ultimately the decision of the parties to reach a conclusion to this conflict. It is now within our grasp,” he said, expressing hope that the coming days “yield a resolute decision.” Advertisement
Hochstein, who is to meet with Lebanese caretake Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Army commander Gen. Jospeh Aoun, was expected to head afterward to Israel for similar talks.
Israel has stepped up its air strikes on Beirut, its southern suburbs, and southern Lebanon for the past several days to force a weakened Hezbollah to accept its cease-fire conditions.
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the border since the militant group opened a “support front” for Gaza in October 2023.
The conflict descended into war when Israel expanded its attacks Sept. 17 with an unprecedented, highly sophisticated pager and walkie-talkie attack against Hezbollah members, killing a dozen people and wounding more than 3,000.
The peak was the assassination 10 days later of Nasrallah in his bunker in Beirut’s southern suburbs, along with several of his military commanders.
Israel stepped up its strikes by targeting more Hezbollah officials, headquarters, missiles launchers, bases and even its financial arm in the group’s main strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israeli forces then started to advance inside southern Lebanon, where they met fierce resistance by Hezbollah fighters, who kept firing missiles into Israeli territory. The relentless Israeli air and ground bombardment led to large destruction of villages, property, hospitals and schools in the targeted areas. Advertisement
