FILE: U.S. Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein is shown during his visit to Lebanon Jan 11 , 2024
If a settlement with Lebanon and Hezbollah is not reached, the Israeli military would reportedly ramp up its operations to the point of a full-scale war, Israeli media reported on Thursday
According to the reports, Israel informed mediators that March 15 was set as a deadline for a diplomatic agreement with Lebanon and Hezbollah, amid daily clashes at the border, “Western diplomatic sources” told the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is closely linked to Hezbollah
If an agreement was not reached by that point, according to the daily , Israel would ramp up its military operations against Hezbollah on its northern border to the point of a full-scale war. However, an Israeli official later denied the report of a deadline to Hebrew-language media.
This follows Israel’s demands for an agreement to move Hezbollah away from the border in southern Lebanon, amid increased attacks on Israeli civil and military sites, as well as the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians.
Israelis were instructed to evacuate communities and cities near the border, fleeing their homes for almost 5 months, while the government attempted to reach a diplomatic solution to the deadly skirmishes
But diplomats told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein “has backed down from the condition of Hezbollah’s withdrawal” from the border region, and that “he is no longer mentioning this matter in his meetings.”
“His only demand is for a ceasefire with guarantees from both parties,” the diplomats said.
A diplomatic source told the newspaper that “Hochstein’s visit to Beirut did not only aim to ‘defuse the bomb’, but rather included “a follow-up mechanism that was agreed on with the official sides, to pave the way for readiness on the ground when a temporary ceasefire gets declared in Gaza.”
The Gaza truce “is supposed to apply to Lebanon through kickstarting negotiations over the implementation of U.N. resolution 1701 with all its stipulations,” the source added.
The source also revealed that Hochstein has “formed a U.S. work group led by U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson that will hold meetings at the embassy and devise a political paper for implementing Resolution 1701.”
Gaza ceasefire talks
In another development Hamas said Thursday that its delegation has left Cairo and that talks on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release will resume next week, making it extremely unlikely that mediators will broker a deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Egyptian officials had earlier said the negotiations reached an impasse over Hamas’ demand for a phased process culminating in an end to the war. But they did not rule out a deal before Ramadan, which is expected to begin on Sunday and has emerged as an informal deadline.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said Israel “refuses to commit to and give guarantees regarding the cease-fire, the return of the displaced, and withdrawal from the areas of its incursion.” But he said the talks were still ongoing and would resume next week. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
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