Lebanon says ceasefire efforts continue despite US approval for Israel to pursue war

Israeli military chief vowed to keep bombing after Washington asked to 'minimise harm' to civilians

Israeli air strikes in Baalbek have damaged many buildings in the area. AFP

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

Lebanese officials insisted that efforts to reach a ceasefire to stop Israel’s war in Lebanon are continuing despite the US green light for Israel to continue its operations against Hezbollah with a focus on “minimising” civilian casualties.

At least 2,141 people have been killed in Lebanon and over 10,000 have been wounded since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on October 8 last year.

The majority of those casualties occurred in recent weeks, when Israel intensified its attacks on the Iran-backed group, conducting thousands of strikes that hit medical centres, residential buildings, firefighters, and caused significant destruction across the country.

Israel has also launched a ground invasion in the southern parts of the country and enforced a maritime blockade, employing a military strategy similar to the one that has resulted in the deaths of more than 42,000 people in Gaza, the majority of whom were civilians, and the destruction of most parts of the enclave.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened Lebanon this week with “destruction” like the Palestinian territory ahead of a crucial phone call on Wednesday evening with US President Joe Biden, the first since August.

The White House said Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu to “minimise harm” to civilians in Lebanon, particularly in “densely populated areas of Beirut”, but didn’t ask him to stop the war.

“There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Netanyahu threatens Lebanon with 'destruction like we see in Gaza'

01:38

As the US says it aims to guide Israel’s war in Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah's capacities rather than pushing for a ceasefire, Lebanese officials insisted that diplomatic efforts are continuing to stop the war.

"There are contacts taking place between the US and France, which requested the Security Council to convene, to revive a ceasefire for a specific period to resume the search for political solutions", Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the PM said that "some may think that diplomatic efforts have stopped, and there is something like implicit approval for Israel to continue its aggression, but this impression is incorrect".

“We are continuing to make the necessary contacts, and Lebanon's friends from Arab and foreign countries are also continuing to pressure for a ceasefire for a specific period to discuss the basic political steps, the most important of which is the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and forcing the Israeli enemy to implement it.”

Hezbollah, Iran's main proxy group in the Middle East, has suffered severe blows in the past few weeks, such as the assassination of its leaders, the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies used by members and air strikes hitting its premises in Lebanon and Syria.

No appetite for a ceasefire

On Tuesday, it declared its support for a ceasefire with Israel without linking it to a truce in Gaza for the first time, signalling a significant shift in the group's stance after heavy setbacks and what appears to be a lack of appetite in western capitals to push for a ceasefire as Israel continues to degrade the group's capabilities.

Western and Lebanese diplomatic and political sources told The National that Israel initially agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah but later “caught mediators off guard” by assassinating the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 27 and intensifying its attacks on Lebanon.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is leading the efforts on behalf of its ally Hezbollah, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that there has been no positive progress regarding stopping the Israeli war, adding that the US is “doing nothing” to achieve a ceasefire.

“The French are still with us in this position, as are the British,” he stated.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that the Lebanese officials are calling to be introduced ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. It called for a complete cessation of hostilities and stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed between the Israeli border and the Litani River.

It also allows only the Lebanese army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to possess weapons and military equipment, ensuring full sovereignty of the Lebanese state over its southern region.

Israeli soldiers work on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border. AP

The agreement offered substantial benefits for both. Lebanon, emerging from years of Syrian occupation, seized the opportunity to reassert control over its territory while securing a UN commitment to address the Shebaa Farms dispute. Israel gained a safety buffer along its northern border as Hezbollah forces were pushed back to the Litani River, reducing immediate threats from the Iran-backed militia group.

However, Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of failing to uphold the terms of Resolution 1701. Israel has argued the provisions were never fully enforced, citing this as a significant factor in continuing tension.

With tension flaring on both sides, experts are questioning if Resolution 1701 can still pave the way for lasting stability between Israel and Lebanon or if the current conflict has advanced too far beyond its limits.

After the call between the US and Israeli leaders, Israel's military chief, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, vowed on Thursday to keep bombing Lebanon in an intensified campaign that has killed more than 1,200 people since September 23, “without allowing them any respite or recovery”.

At least five civil defence workers were killed in Dardaghya in southern Lebanon, and two people were killed in a strike on Samar in the Bekaa valley, Lebanon’s news agency reported on Thursday. Six others were injured in overnight strikes on Matariya, near the Litani River.

The Israeli military said overnight strikes hit weapons caches in the south and Beirut, claiming to have killed two Hezbollah commanders.

An Israeli reserve soldier was killed during fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the military said on Thursday. This brings the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in clashes with Hezbollah to 12.

Fishermen in Lebanon warned from the waters

01:18