Israel sees progress in Lebanon truce talks despite hurdles

Israel said headway was being made in U.S.-mediated efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Lebanon, but that it still needed guarantees on resuming military operations if there are any infractions by Hezbollah.

“There is a certain progress. We are working with the Americans on the issue,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters on Monday. Russia could help with the enforcement of such a deal, he added.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection last week has fueled speculation about the outlook for Israel’s more than year-old conflicts with Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza — even as the threat of further direct confrontation with Tehran remains. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he’s spoken to Trump three times in the past few days.

Cross-border fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon has intensified in recent weeks. Hezbollah says it is reacting to Israel’s military operations in Gaza against Hamas, which attacked Israel more than a year ago. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are designated as terrorist groups by the U.S.

A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, made a rare visit to Russia last week to sound out Moscow on a possible role in preventing arms smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

Dermer on Sunday met President-elect Trump in Florida, Axios reported, citing four Israeli and U.S. officials. The conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the potential for an improvement in Israeli-Saudi ties was part of the discussions, the report said, citing the U.S. officials. Dermer then traveled to Washington to meet top Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to the report.

Sa’ar declined to elaborate on Dermer’s travels, but made clear that Israel was open to a Russian role in curbing Hezbollah.

“The Russians, as you know, are present in Syria,” he said. “I think they can contribute to achieving effectively this objective.” Sa’ar, who’s days into his role after his predecessor was named defense minister to replace Yoav Gallant, whom Netanyahu fired, stressed that having “more relevant players” involved was “good” for any potential deal.

The Russian embassy in Israel declined to comment.

The proposed truce to end the conflict with Lebanon would require Hezbollah to pull back from the area near the border with Israel and a withdrawal of Israeli forces. The plan also envisions beefing up the United Nations peacekeeping presence already in Lebanon. The Israelis want guarantees that Hezbollah will be disarmed and that they will be empowered to launch renewed military strikes if the group is deemed a continued danger.

Lebanese authorities have yet to receive a draft proposal for the cease-fire, according to Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to Hezbollah. Lebanon has voiced opposition to any deal that would allow Israel’s military to operate freely in its airspace or territory.

“We would like to wrap this episode up,” Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, told Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM on Monday. “The most significant aspect is the guarantees regarding our ability to keep tackling threats.”

If agreed to, the deal would start with an initial 60-day test period — long enough, potentially, to reach the handover to the Trump administration by outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden.

Despite losing many of its leaders and much of its arsenal to Israeli strikes, Hezbollah has kept up scores of missile and drone launches across the border. It has said any truce in Lebanon must come with a cessation of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. More than 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and fighters in its figures.

Still, Israel, which had to evacuate tens of thousands of residents from northern areas, has already claimed victory against Hezbollah.

“We have defeated Hezbollah,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a speech on Sunday. “Now our job is to keep up the pressure and implement the fruits of this victory, by ensuring a change in the security situation in Lebanon.”

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(With assistance from Omar Tamo and Zoe Ma.)