Israel Cabinet discusses Lebanon ceasefire framework: Minister

JERUSALEM - Israel’s security Cabinet is discussing the terms of a truce with Hezbollah in south Lebanon, where Israeli troops are conducting a ground offensive, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Oct 30.

“There are discussions, I think it will still take time”, Mr Cohen told Israeli public radio.

According to Israel’s Channel 12 TV, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with ministers on the evening of Oct 29 on Israel’s demands in return for a 60-day truce.

These include a Hezbollah pullback north of the Litani River, some 30km from the Israeli frontier, the Lebanese army’s deployment along the border, an international intervention mechanism to enforce the truce and a guarantee that Israel will maintain freedom of action in case of threats.

“Thanks to all the army’s operations these past months and particularly these past weeks... Israel can come in a position of strength after the entire Hezbollah leadership was eliminated and over 2,000 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructures were hit,” said Mr Cohen, a former intelligence minister.

According to Israeli media, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser and special envoy Amos Hochstein will head to the region on Oct 30 to meet Mr Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to discuss conditions for a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The war in Lebanon began late in September, nearly a year after Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border fire into Israel in support of Hamas following its Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The war has killed at least 1,754 people in Lebanon since Sept 23, according to an AFP tally of Health Ministry figures, though the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data.

The Israeli military says it has lost 37 soldiers in its Lebanon campaign since it launched ground operations on Sept 30. AFP