
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in an interview with local channel al-Jadeed, Oct. 30, 2024. (Credit: Screenshot from al-Jadeed interview)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope for a cease-fire in the war in Lebanon "in the coming hours or days," adding that he was "cautiously optimistic."
"We are doing our best ... to achieve a cease-fire in the coming hours or days," Mikati said in an interview with local channel al-Jadeed. "In a call today [Wednesday], [U.S. Envoy Amos] Hochstein hinted that we might be able to reach a cease-fire in the next few days, before the 5th of next month."
Israeli public radio KAN reported on what it described as a draft cease-fire proposal for Lebanon, dated Oct. 26. The proposal urges Israel and Lebanon to implement U.N. resolutions 1701 and 1559.
The said proposal states that Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven days of the cease-fire's start, with the Lebanese Army beginning its deployment as Israeli forces leave. The full implementation of this plan would be completed during a 60-day cease-fire period.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, calls for a lasting cease-fire and the deployment of the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon, while demanding a halt to all Israeli violations of Lebanon's land, sea and air sovereignty. Resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004, calls for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon and the disarmament of all armed groups, including Hezbollah.
The cease-fire proposal includes an annexed letter between the U.S. and Israel, stipulating Israel's "right to act in self-defense" against imminent threats, according to broadcaster KAN.
Regarding the proposed cease-fire, the White House stated: "There are many reports and drafts circulating. They do not reflect the current state of negotiations."
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah's new leader, Naim Qassem, stated that the negotiations had so far "not produced any results."
Hochstein, McGurk and Israel
The news comes at the heels of senior U.S. officials expected visit to Israel on Thursday to seek progress in ending the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Amos Hochstein, the U.S. envoy for Lebanon, and Brett McGurk, the White House's Middle East chief, will lead the talks with Israeli officials.
The two officials "will discuss a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, as well as ways to end the conflict in Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been seeking a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip for months, more than a year after the war began following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
While Washington has refrained from urging Israel — relying on U.S. diplomatic and military support — for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, it seeks "a diplomatic solution that allows civilians, both in Lebanon and Israel, to return home," according to Miller. The spokesman emphasized that the U.S. is pressuring Israel to avoid "considerable damage" in Lebanon. "We have made it clear that the campaign they are waging in Lebanon must not, cannot resemble the campaign they waged in Gaza," he said.
Israel, which has been at an attrition war with Hezbollah since Oct. 8, 2023, intensified its bombing campaign across Lebanon on Sept 23. of this year.
The war has killed at least 1,754 people in Lebanon since Sept. 23, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, although the real number is likely to be higher due to gaps in the data.
Israel's military says it has lost 37 soldiers in Lebanon since it launched its ground offensive on Sept. 30.