US ambassador to brief Israel on Lebanon's response to US cease-fire proposal

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The US ambassador to Israel is scheduled to brief Tel Aviv later Wednesday on Lebanon's response to Washington's proposal to halt Israel's onslaught in Lebanon, Israeli state media reported Wednesday.

Amos Hochstein "will arrive in Israel tonight and meet with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to inform him of Lebanon's response regarding the US proposal,” said Israeli broadcasting authority, KAN.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted unnamed Israeli sources who said there is "cautious optimism in Tel Aviv, though there are assessments of gaps, including over the mechanism to oversee the implementation of a potential agreement."

The sources noted that Lebanon, contrary to Israel's demands, does not want the UK and Germany to be involved in the mechanism but prefers Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan.

"In any case, both sides agree that the mechanism should be headed by an American general from the US Central Command (CENTCOM),” the sources added.

But privately-owned Channel 12 reported that "there is a fundamental disagreement between Israel on one side and Lebanon and Hezbollah on the other regarding Israel's right to self-defense if Hezbollah violates the terms of the agreement."

Hochstein cited additional progress earlier Wednesday in talks to reach a cease-fire between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah.

Speaking after discussions with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Hochstein said he head to Israel.

“The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday and made additional progress, so I will travel from here in a couple of hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can,” he said at a news conference.

“We are going to work with the incoming (US) administration, we are already going to be discussing this with them. They will be fully aware of everything we are doing,” said Hochstein.

The US envoy said Tuesday that a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah was “within our grasp.

Hochstein will land in Israel after a two-day visit to Beirut, where he met Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Berri and senior military officials to finalize the details of a potential agreement with Lebanon.

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.

Israel has engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets.

More than 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with nearly 15,000 injured and more than 1 million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.​​​​​​​

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

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala