The situation at a glance: Media: USA presents proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon

With thousands dead in Lebanon, the United States has put forward a proposal for a ceasefire between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, according to media reports. The draft was sent to the Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, reported the Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera. The paper by US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson contains a number of suggestions that need to be discussed further.

According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, the Israeli military is demanding, among other things, that it be allowed to continue taking action against Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to prevent the militia from rearming. This is met with rejection in Beirut. “It is unthinkable that Israel is allowed to strike at any time,” the newspaper quoted a Lebanese official as saying.

A foreign policy debut gift for Trump

According to a report in the Washington Post, Israel is also preparing a proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah. A diplomatic breakthrough could serve as a quick foreign policy victory for US President-elect Donald Trump, three current and former Israeli officials told the newspaper.

“There is an agreement that Israel will give Trump a gift … that there will be an agreement on Lebanon in January,” an Israeli official said. Accordingly, the Israeli government’s priorities changed quickly after the US election. According to the Washington Post, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer visited future President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate during his most recent trip to the US, before inaugurating the incumbent administration of Democratic President Joe Biden in Washington informed about the current status of talks about a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Report: Russia should prevent Hezbollah from re-arming from Syria

The Israeli proposal therefore calls for Hezbollah to withdraw behind the Litani River – about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel. In addition, Russia, which maintains relations with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and has troops stationed in the country, should ensure that Hezbollah is not rearmed from Syria. According to the Washington Post, Russian negotiators were recently in Israel to discuss the details.

Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, has been firing rockets at Israel since the Gaza war began more than a year ago. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive.

The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the massacre by the Islamist Hamas and other terrorist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were kidnapped as hostages in Gaza. On the Palestinian side, tens of thousands of people were killed in the war, most of them civilians. The exact figures cannot actually be verified independently. Hezbollah claims to be attacking neighboring Israel in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

So far, 220 minors have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon

According to authorities, 220 minors have been killed in Lebanon since fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military began more than a year ago. In addition, almost 1,300 children and young people were injured, according to the Ministry of Health. A total of 3,386 people have been killed and 14,417 injured so far. The authority does not distinguish between Hezbollah fighters and civilians in its list. Since the start of the war, 76 people have died in Israel, including 45 civilians and 31 soldiers. More than 640 people were injured.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting on both sides of the border between Israel and Lebanon. “The reason we are pushing so hard for a diplomatic solution is because we want to create conditions under which civilians on both sides can return to their homes,” said US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.