Israel’s Gantz says cease-fire must allow Tel Aviv to strike Lebanon

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz said Monday that any cease-fire agreement with Lebanon must grant Tel Aviv the freedom to strike even after the deal.

"A condition for any agreement with Lebanon - full Israeli freedom of action against any violation," Gantz wrote on his X account.

The US, Israel’s main ally, is mediating between Tel Aviv and Beirut to reach a cease-fire deal to end more than a year of attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, US envoy Amos Hochstein will arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to receive the Lebanese response to a US cease-fire proposal.

Hochstein is also expected to travel to Israel on Wednesday.

Israel wants any agreement to allow its army to strike against what it sees as a violation of the cease-fire terms, a condition rejected by Lebanon.

Last week, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that Beirut has received a US proposal for a cease-fire with Israel.

He, however, denied that the proposal “includes any kind of freedom of movement for the Israeli army in Lebanon,” a condition he described as “unacceptable” and non-negotiable. He reiterated Lebanon's refusal to compromise on its sovereignty.

Israel launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group in late September, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare over Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

More than 3,400 people have been killed, over 14,600 injured and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 this year.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara