BEIRUT — The United States and other mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict during the Biden administration’s final months.
Negotiations on both fronts have been stalled for months and none of the warring parties have shown any sign of backing down from their demands.
Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein are scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible cease-fires in both Lebanon and Gaza, and the release of hostages held by Hamas. CIA Director Bill Burns will go to Egypt to discuss those efforts, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A proposal to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah calls for a two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon, and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the country’s southern border, two other officials familiar with the talks said.
But Israel is unlikely to trust U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops to keep Hezbollah out of a reestablished buffer zone in Lebanon. It wants the freedom to strike the militants if needed. Lebanese officials want a complete withdrawal.
Separately, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have proposed a four-week cease-fire in Gaza during which Hamas would release up to 10 hostages, according to an Egyptian official and a Western diplomat.
But Hamas still appears unwilling to release scores of hostages without securing a lasting cease-fire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, even after the killing of its top leader, Yahya Sinwar. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on lasting Israeli control over parts of the territory.
In Lebanon, a push to revive the UN resolution that ended the last war
During his visit to Beirut last week, Hochstein met with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. They agreed on a roadmap on how to implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
The resolution stipulates a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territory, and withdrawal of all armed forces except for U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese army from the area south of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers north of the border.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah’s newleader, Naim Kassem, said the group will not “beg” for a cease-fire. “If the Israelis decide to stop the aggression, we say that we accept, but according to the conditions that we see as suitable,” he said during a televised address.
Israel has not commented on the proposal to end the fighting in Lebanon, which started more than a year ago and dramatically intensified in mid-September.
Two U.S. officials say there are competing proposals being discussed for a cease-fire in Lebanon, including one idea calling for an immediate truce followed by two months to fully implement the resolution.
The Lebanese official said once a cease-fire is reached, a 60-day period will start in which the Lebanese army and the peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL would deploy in the border area as Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters withdraw.
