By Khaled Yousef
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to inform the US administration that Israel is willing to negotiate a temporary cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to the newspaper Israel Hayom, the US and France are promoting an initiative to halt the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
A political source, not named in the report, said that Israel has shown readiness to negotiate, despite believing the chances of success for the US-French initiative are slim.
The report indicated that Netanyahu tasked Dermer with notifying US officials of Israel's willingness to discuss a temporary cease-fire in Lebanon.
The political source noted that Israeli assessments suggest a slim likelihood of the initiative being completed, adding that “Nasrallah's rejection would give Israel legitimacy to intensify its military operations against the Lebanese group.”
There has been no comment from either Israel or Hezbollah regarding the report.
Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday morning, killing nearly 610 people and injuring over 2,000 others, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio