US envoy arrives in Israel to try sealing Hezbollah ceasefire

US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Israel on Wednesday to try to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah group, Israeli media reported. 

Following his arrival, Hochstein met with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and the meeting concluded late on Wednesday evening, according to a KAN News report.

The report added that the meeting between the two was defined as constructive, and discussions are expected to continue on Thursday.

הסתיימה פגישת דרמר-הוכשטיין: הפגישה הוגדרה "קונסטרוקטיבית" והדיונים יימשכו מחר@AmichaiStein1

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 20, 2024

Additionally, Hochstein is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday to discuss arrangements for Israel's northern region, according to a Walla report that cited a senior Israeli official. 

Before his arrival in Israel, Hochstein landed in Beirut on Tuesday, seeking to clinch a ceasefire agreement after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to a US ceasefire proposal, although with some comments.

"The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday and made additional progress," Hochstein said after his second meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, endorsed by the Iran-backed Hezbollah to negotiate.

"So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can," Hochstein said.

As Hochstein was on his way to Tel Aviv, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that progress is being made toward reaching the resolution. 

The US believes it's in a place to get a diplomatic resolution since Israel accomplished a number of important objectives, including clearing out Hezbollah infrastructure close to the border, he added. 

Miller adamantly refused to engage in discussion about the underlying issues in the proposal, such as if Israel guaranteed it would withdraw from the south of Lebanon or if American troops would observe the implementation of the deal.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group had given its own feedback on the truce draft and that it was shared with Hochstein. He said whether a ceasefire was reached now depended on Israel and whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was serious about one. Hezbollah stood ready to keep on fighting for a long time, he added.

The diplomacy aims to end a conflict that has inflicted massive devastation in Lebanon since Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah in September, mounting airstrikes across wide parts of the country and sending in troops.

Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from its north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Hezbollah, still reeling from the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, has kept up rocket fire into Israel, targeting Tel Aviv this week, and its fighters are battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south.

Although diplomacy to end the Gaza war has largely stalled, the Biden administration aims to seal a ceasefire in the parallel conflict in Lebanon before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

"We are going to work with the incoming administration. We're already going to be discussing this with them. They will be fully aware of what we're doing," Hochstein said.

Diplomats aim to restore a ceasefire based on a UN resolution that ended an earlier conflict in 2006. Israel has said it wants the freedom to act against Hezbollah if it deems it necessary, even after any truce is agreed. Lebanon rejects this.

"The condition for any diplomatic settlement in Lebanon is preserving our intelligence capabilities and the (Israeli military's) right to act and protect Israel's citizens from Hezbollah," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told intelligence officers at a meeting on Wednesday.

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem is due to give a speech at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT), Hezbollah's media office said.

UN Resolution

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, in an interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed, said he did not want to announce expectations about the chances of a deal being sealed. Hezbollah was working to "make the political track succeed on national foundations," he added.

Berri has said language about Israeli freedom to act was not included in the draft US proposal submitted to him last week.

UN Security Council resolution 1701 requires the Lebanese state to have a monopoly on arms in the area between the border and the Litani River, some 30 km (20 miles) north of it. This means Hezbollah should have no military presence near the frontier.

Miller said the State Department has been in talks with regional and European partners about providing financial contributions, training and operational support to the Lebanese Armed Forces to ensure that UN Security Council resolution 1701 is fully implemented.

"We're going to continue to work to try and reduce Hezbollah's power in the region," Miller said. "We continue to work to try to cut off Hezbollah's funding sources, and we continue to try to work for a secure future for the Lebanese and Israeli people."

Israel has long complained the resolution was not implemented, and Hezbollah remained armed at the border. Lebanon also accused Israel of regularly violating the resolution.