War in Lebanon: Media: Israel wants to agree to ceasefire with Hezbollah

The Israeli security cabinet will approve an agreement for a ceasefire with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia on Tuesday, according to Israeli media reports. Several Israeli media outlets unanimously reported that the text of this agreement had been fully negotiated. There was initially no official confirmation.

The German Press Agency learned from government circles that the cabinet’s approval of the agreement negotiated under US mediation was “probable”. Lebanese government sources in Beirut also expressed optimism, but stressed that the decision now rests with Israel.

The communications director of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, expressed cautious optimism: We are close to an agreement on a ceasefire, good discussions have been held, things are moving in the right direction. “But it’s not done yet.” Kirby also said he did not want to comment on details so as not to jeopardize the chance of an agreement. He also couldn’t say when something would have to be communicated.

The USA has been pushing for a ceasefire between the Shiite militia and Israel for weeks. Their mediator Amos Hochstein traveled to Lebanon and Israel again this week for negotiations.

In the evening, France said that talks about a ceasefire had made significant progress. It is hoped that the parties involved will take advantage of this opportunity as quickly as possible, said the Élysée Palace.

According to available reports, the agreement is not aimed at a temporary ceasefire, but rather at a permanent end to the fighting that began more than a year ago through a formal ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israel and the Hezbollah militia continued their attacks. The Israeli Air Force carried out attacks in Lebanon and the militia fired rockets into Israel. Security regulations were tightened in northern Israel, and in some areas schools were to remain closed on Tuesday because of fears of increased rocket fire.

When asked, the Israeli army said Hezbollah had fired more than 17,000 rockets at Israel since the war began on October 7 last year. During the same period, the Israeli Air Force attacked around 12,000 terrorist targets in Lebanon.