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Senior US officials arrived in Israel and Egypt as they attempt to push forward efforts to reach ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.
CIA chief William Burns met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Cairo and reviewed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostages-for-prisoners swap deal between Israel and Hamas, according to a statement from Mr El Sisi's office.
US envoys Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein arrived in Israel on Thursday, with Mr McGurk tasked with discussing a Gaza ceasefire. Mr Hochstein will focus on a Lebanon ceasefire, following reports of a draft agreement to end the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Mr Hochstein and Mr McGurk during a meeting in Jerusalem that the most important part of a possible deal would be "Israel’s determination and ability to enforce the agreement and to foil any threat to its security from Lebanon," according to a statement released by his office.
The pair also met Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a confidante of Mr Netanyahu, to discuss security in the north of Israel and the fate of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The visits are the latest diplomatic efforts over the past year by the US, alongside Egypt and Qatar, to get the warring parties to agree on an end to the fighting. Earlier this month US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his 11th trip to the region in a year, and these may be the last high-level trips by Washington officials before the US election next week.
An end to the hostilities in Lebanon seems more likely than ending the war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage to Gaza.
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Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes targeted Palestine Tower in Gaza city on October 7, 2023. EPA -
Palestinians take control of an Israeli Merkava battle tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. AFP -
This video grab from footage released by the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group on May 22 shows what the group described as Israeli female soldiers being captured by Palestinian Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. AFP -
Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. EPA -
A rocket is launched from the coastal Gaza strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas movement, in Gaza city. EPA -
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. Reuters -
Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. AFP -
An Israeli artillery unit fires at an area along the border with Gaza, southern Israel, on October 11, 2023. EPA -
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people carry their belongings before boarding a ship for US nationals and their immediate family members, as they leave Israel headed for Cyprus. Reuters -
Palestinian youths take cover behind a rubbish container as they clash with Israeli forces at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the Israeli settlement of Beit El on October 20, 2023. AFP -
A man mourns as he attends a funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. Reuters -
A man holds a child, survivors of Israeli bombardment, as they are treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. AFP -
People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023. AFP -
Anti-war protesters raise their 'bloody' hands behind US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden's $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine, as well as bolster border security, on Capitol Hill in Washington on October 31, 2023. Reuters -
Palestinians run for cover after a strike near the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on November 1, 2023. AFP -
Palestinian children run as they flee from Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023. AFP -
An injured Palestinian woman covered in dust and blood hugs an injured girl child at the hospital following the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 15, 2023. AFP -
Hostages released by Hamas Gal, left, and Tal Almog-Goldstein, second left, stand in a bus transporting them to an army base in Ofakim in southern Israel after they were released by the Palestinian militant group from the Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023. AFP -
Palestinian boys stand in their makeshift tent at a camp set up on a schoolyard in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip where most civilians have taken refuge, on December 13, 2023. AFP -
Palestinians fleeing the north through the Salaheddin road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza city, walk past Israeli army tanks on November 24, 2023. AFP -
In this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, soldiers visit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used to attack Israel through the Erez border crossing on October 7. AFP -
Jewish protesters block the passage of aid trucks being sent to Gaza in Ashdod, Israel on February 1, 2024. Reuters -
A man pulls water containers as he walks past destroyed buildings in Khan Younis on May 5, 2024. AFP -
Relatives of Hanan Yablonka, one of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants, mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv on May 26. AFP -
Humanitarian aid packages land after being dropped from a plane in Al Mawasi district of Khan Younis, on May 30, 2024. Reuters -
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, on June 16. EPA -
Displaced Palestinians play football in Jabalia on July 23, 2024. AFP -
Palestinians injured in an Israeli strike on a school ride on the back of a cart in Deir Al Balah on July 27, 2024. AFP -
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, September 11. Reuters -
Palestinians survey the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a displacement camp in Khan Younis on September 10, 2024. AFP -
A medical staff member carries supplies through a destroyed section of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on September 17. AFP -
People walk past makeshift graves in Gaza city on September 17. AFP
Hezbollah launched attacks from Lebanon on Israel a day later in support of Hamas, followed by nearly a year of tit-for-tat attacks before Israel launched a ground invasion into south Lebanon last month, drastically escalating the scale of violence and destruction. More than 43,100 people have been killed in Gaza and around 2,800 in Lebanon in the past year.
A purported US-drafted ceasefire proposal published by Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster, suggests an initial 60-day cessation of hostilities, allowing for the Lebanese army to deploy and replace Hezbollah south of the Litani River, up to around 30km from the border with Israel.
The Lebanese army would also be expected to seize a monopoly on weapons deployed in the area – implying that Hezbollah and its weapons arsenals move out. The number of Lebanese army soldiers would increase to 10,000 over the two-month period, the document dated October 26 said, while Israel would have seven days to remove its troops from southern Lebanon.
Israel, Lebanon, the US and unspecified other counties would resolve to develop and establish a Monitoring and Enforcement Mechanism for the purpose of “monitoring implementation of the cessation of hostilities and related commitments”, the document said.
The proposal essentially seeks to strengthen the steps outlined in UN Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 with the aim of ending the war between Hezbollah and Israel, but has never been fully implemented.
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The southern Lebanese village of Al Taybeh is shrouded by smoke during an air strike as Israeli forces seek out Hezbollah. AFP -
The sister, mother and the partner of Mohammad Farhat, a major with the Lebanese Army who was killed in an Israeli strike with two other soldiers on the outskirts of the village of Yater in southern Lebanon, attend an official memorial in Beirut. Reuters -
Lebanese Army soldiers take part in an official ceremony to pay tribute after the death of Maj Mohammad Farhat. Reuters -
Lebanese Army soldiers carry the coffin of Maj Mohammad Farhat during an official ceremony to pay tribute in Beirut, Lebanon. Reuters -
Emotions ran high at a memorial for Lebanese Army Maj Mohammad Farhat, who was killed in an Israeli strike with two other soldiers on the outskirts of the village of Yater in southern Lebanon. Reuters -
The relatives of Maj Mohammad Farhat are comforted by friends at a memorial in Beirut. Reuters -
The sister of Maj Mohammad Farhat at the official memorial to her brother in Beirut. Reuters -
Mourners at the official ceremony to pay tribute to Maj Mohammad Farhat of the Lebanese Army, who was killed in an Israeli strike with two other soldiers on the outskirts of the village of Yater in southern Lebanon. Reuters
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope that a ceasefire deal with Israel would be reached within days. It remains unclear how willing Lebanon and Israel are to accept the proposal, which contains a provision allowing for self-defence. Israel is likely to want more guarantees that it can respond in the event of Hezbollah or other militant groups in Lebanon breaking the ceasefire and firing across the border.
Israel and Lebanon have requested that, after the initial 60-day implementation period, the US, along with the UN and the international community, will facilitate indirect negotiations between the two countries, aiming to reach full implementation of UN resolution 1701 and resolving the outstanding disputed points on the Blue Line, the separation barrier between Israel and Lebanon.
For Gaza, two days of ceasefire talks in Doha on Sunday and Monday came to a close with no word from US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators on whether the latest proposals to end the year-long war in the Palestinian enclave have brought a deal any closer.
“Netanyahu needs to understand: there is no deal that returns all the hostages without ending the war. Hamas needs to understand: there is no end to the war as long as Hamas continues to rule Gaza,” said Israeli former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Qatar and Egypt must pressure Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza. It shouldn't be difficult because two members of the Hamas political bureau told me explicitly that Hamas is ready to transfer control of Gaza to a technocratic civilian body in which they will have no part.”
Additional reporting by Hamza Hendawi in Cairo
