US envoy heads to Israel after progress on Hezbollah ceasefire

Vocabulary: 300, Words: 592

1A US envoy has arrived in Israel to continue negotiations on a ceasefire with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, after reporting “additional progress” during a second day of talks in Beirut.

2Amos Hochstein, who has led the Biden administration’s efforts to end more than one year of conflict, was expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday amid cautious optimism in Lebanon.

3In what was seen as a positive development, he returned to Beirut on Tuesday after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah accepted a US-drafted proposal, although with some comments. 4He unexpectedly extended his visit by a day for further discussions.

5After meeting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has Hezbollah’s support to negotiate, Hochstein said he would go to Israel “to try to bring this to a close if we can”.

6Details of the ceasefire proposal remained unclear, but some of the earlier differences included the formation of a supervision mechanism and Israel’s demand to be able to strike Lebanon if a deal was violated, which had been rejected by Lebanon.

7Addressing foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that, in any agreement, Israel “will have to maintain our freedom to act if there will be violations”, but he did not give details about what that would entail.

8Since the conflict intensified in late September, Lebanese authorities have said any deal should be based on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

9The resolution includes the removal of Hezbollah’s fighters and weapons in areas between the Blue Line - the unofficial frontier between Lebanon and Israel - and the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) from the boundary with Israel.

10Israel says that was never fully respected, while Lebanon says Israel has violated the resolution by carrying out military flights over the country.

11A potential deal would likely establish a timeline for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the south of Lebanon and include the deployment there of thousands of additional troops of the Lebanese army.

12But questions remain about how the Lebanese troops would operate against Hezbollah, which is heavily armed and backed by Iran, amid fears this could exacerbate sectarian tensions.

13Israel’s stated goal in its war against Hezbollah is to allow the return of about 60,000 residents who have been displaced from communities in the country’s north because of the group’s attacks.

14In Lebanon, the conflict has killed more than 3,500 people, forced more than one million from their homes, Lebanese authorities say. 15It has also caused an estimated $8.5bn (£6.7bn) in economic damages and losses, according to the World Bank.

16Speaking in a pre-recorded televised speech, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Naim Qassem said the group had received the US proposal, clarified its reservations, and that it was allowing the talks to go ahead to see if they produced any results.

17Qassem, whose speech was broadcast shortly after Hochstein made his comments, said the conditions for a deal were a complete cessation of hostilities and the preservation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and that Hezbollah was ready for a fight.

18Israeli air strikes have destroyed large parts of Hezbollah’s infrastructure and killed many of its leaders, including long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah.

19But after the initial shock, the group has reorganised itself. 20It continues to carry out daily attacks on Israel, although not with the same intensity, and confront invading Israeli soldiers in Lebanon’s south.

21Amid the negotiations, Israel has stepped up its air campaign across Lebanon but, after three consecutive days of strikes on Beirut, there were no attacks on the capital during Hochstein’s visit.

from BBC