By Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United States is spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon, linking the two conflicts as part of a single initiative, six sources familiar with the initiative told Reuters.
Details are being hammered out at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to two Lebanese officials, two Western diplomats, a source familiar with the thinking of armed Lebanese group Hezbollah and a source briefed on the talks.
The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Three Israeli officials told Reuters that the United States and France were working on ceasefire proposals but that no significant process had been made so far.
It would be the first time the two fronts are linked as part of a U.S. diplomatic push, the sources said.
The deal may eventually lead to the release of hostages seized by Palestinian armed group Hamas in the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year that sparked hostilities across the Middle East, according to a senior Lebanese official, the source familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking and the source briefed on the talks.
The United States has sought to contain tensions in the Middle East since the Oct. 7 attack.
The day after the Hamas attack, Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli military positions across Lebanon’s southern border, saying the attacks were in solidarity with Gaza.
Since then, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly said his group will not stop firing at Israel until Israel halts its offensive on Gaza.
ISRAEL STEPS UP ATTACKS
Israel has in recent days significantly stepped up its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing several Hezbollah commanders in a strike on Friday and carrying out attacks on Monday that killed more than 550 people dead, including 50 children, Lebanese health authorities said.
That intensification triggered a diplomatic effort to halt both fronts, the sources said.
The senior Lebanese official and the source familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking told Reuters that Hezbollah was “open to any settlement that would include both Gaza and Lebanon.”
The second Lebanese official said that it would be “impossible” to stop the conflicts without putting together “a package.”
In a sign of the accelerating diplomacy, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said late on Monday that he would travel to New York for meetings on recent developments. He had not been previously planning to attend.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam and Tom Perry; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Timothy Heritage)
Comments