Middle East Latest: US Envoy Holds Talks in Lebanon About Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire

By Associated Press

Published 4 months ago on

November 19, 2024

A destroyed building hit on Monday evening by an Israeli airstrike is seen in central Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

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A U.S. envoy held talks in Beirut on Tuesday with Lebanese officials about a possible cease-fire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Amos Hochstein, a senior advisor to United States President Joe Biden, arrived in the Lebanese capital a day after the militant Hezbollah group reportedly gave a positive response to a U.S. draft proposal to end the war, which has been ongoing for more than 13 months.

The U.S. has been working on a proposal to end hostilities that would remove Israeli ground forces from Lebanon and push Hezbollah forces away from the Israeli border. More Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would be sent to the buffer zone in southern Lebanon as part of the deal.

Hochstein’s main meeting in beirut was with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants. Hours earlier, an Israeli strike in central Beirut killed five people and wounded others. It was the third Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut in two days.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to severely weaken Hezbollah and end its rocket barrages into Israel.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, and drawing Israeli retaliation, on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Both groups are supported by Iran. The fighting has left more than 3,500 dead in Lebanon and almost 15,000 wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It also has displaced nearly 1.2 million, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, 87 soldiers and 50 civilians, including some foreign laborers who work in agriculture, have been killed by attacks involving rockets, drones and missiles.

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Here’s the Latest:

Lebanese Official Mediating on Behalf of Hezbollah Says the Situation Looks Positive Regarding a US Cease-Fire Proposal

BEIRUT — Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah who is mediating on the group’s behalf, says some unresolved details remain following his meeting with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein over an American proposal on a cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel.

Berri, in remarks to the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, said that representatives from his side and the American side are still working to address technical issues before progressing to the next stage.

This would involve Hochstein traveling to Israel for further discussions, he said.

“We are waiting for what he will bring from there,” Berri said, emphasizing that the overall outlook remains positive.

Berri and Hochstein met for nearly two hours on Tuesday to discuss the U.S. proposal. Berri also told that Lebanon holds the American negotiators responsible for guarantees regarding the Israeli position.

Berri said that though Hochstein “coordinated with the Israelis regarding the draft… It would not be the first time that the Israelis have reneged their commitments.”

Yemen’s Houthis Say They Targeted a Panama-Flagged Vessel Twice on Monday

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack that twice targeted a Panama-flagged bulk carrier traveling through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden the day before.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree made the claim about the attack on the Anadolu S in a prerecorded statement.

Missiles twice splashed down near the ship on Monday, causing no damage or injuries.

Tuesday marked the first anniversary of the Houthis’ attacks on shipping in the Middle East waters.

The attacks have targeted shipping through a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it a year over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon.

Israeli Forces Kill Three Militants in the West Bank

JERUSALEM — Israeli forces have killed three militants during a raid Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, the military said. The militant Hamas group later identified the three as its fighters.

They were killed in the area of Jenin, in the north of the occupied territory, which has been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years, even before the israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The military said the militants shot at them first, drawing return fire that killed a wanted suspect and two others. The military said it found rifles and military equipment at the site.

It said it also destroyed two facilities used to manufacture explosives and dismantled explosives it said were buried under the roads.

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli fire has killed at least 784 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 167 children, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry.

Most appear to have been militants killed during Israeli raids, but the dead also include people killed during violent protests as well as civilian bystanders.

There has also been a rise in stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it as part of their future state.