Washington is hopeful of a ceasefire, and Hezbollah and Israel are getting tougher – DW – 11/20/2024

US Special Envoy Amos Hockstein reiterated his confidence in reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon, despite Israel and Hezbollah maintaining their positions.

A day after his meeting with pro-Hezbollah Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Hochstein said “…More progressHe will now travel to Israel and try to “finish” an agreement to stop the fighting.

The United States and France are doing their best to stop the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which saw an increase at the end of September after an exchange of fire across the border.

However, the Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, confirmed on Wednesday (November 20, 2024), that his group would not accept an agreement “that does not preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty,” after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar . he reaffirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that any agreement must He guarantees Israel’s “freedom of action” against Hezbollah.

Qassem announced in a recorded speech that the party is negotiating “under two roofs: the roof of stopping the attack completely and completely… , or submit whenever he wants under different titles,” emphasizing that “Israel cannot defeat us and impose its conditions on us.”

Naim Qassem said in his speech that Israel “attacked the heart of the capital, Beirut, so it must be expected that the response will be in the center of Tel Aviv.”

These developments come after the American ambassador, who arrived in Beirut yesterday, Tuesday, negotiated to try to reach a truce, after announcing the day before that the solution “within reachBut it is up to the warring parties to “decide.”

And it was US Ambassador in Beirut Lisa Johnson was presented last Thursday to the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri 13-point plan It provides for a 60-day rest and deployment of the Lebanese army in the south.

Berri, a friend of Hezbollah, said yesterday, Tuesday, that this proposal is “good in principle,” explaining that Lebanese and American representatives must settle “some technical details” before Hochstein’s departure, to which he met again on Wednesday.

On the ground, the Lebanese National News Agency reported violent clashes in the south, where Israeli forces were trying to “advance to the mountains of Kfar Shuba” under heavy Israeli artillery and aircraft cover.

For its part, Hezbollah confirmed that it continues to repel the advance of Israeli forces, especially towards the important town of Khiam, about six kilometers from the border, where it said it was targeting soldiers Israeli.

The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that one of its soldiers was killed in battles in southern Lebanon, bringing to fifty the number of Israeli soldiers killed since its ground offensive began at the end of the September last year.

For its part, the Lebanese Army said the death toll had risen to 18 since September 23, after one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli attack on southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

In response, the Israeli army said it was targeting Hezbollah, not the Lebanese army. He announced that he had hit 100 “terrorist targets” on Tuesday and that he had killed two party leaders on Sunday.

Many countries consider Lebanon’s Hezbollah, or its military wing, to be a terrorist organization. Among these countries are the United States, the European Union, Great Britain and other countries. Germany banned the party’s activities on its territory in 2020 and declared it a terrorist organization.

FY/AH/AK (DPA, AFP, Reuters)