The United States declared, this Monday 21st, that it wants war between Israel and the Hezbollah end “as quickly as possible” and demanded that a UN resolution be implemented that would force the armed group to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
US envoy Amos Hochstein held talks in Lebanon’s capital with Hezbollah-allied Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in an effort to end a war that has left more than 1,470 people dead in Lebanon. Lebanon in almost a month.
This Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported six deaths, including a child, in an Israeli bombing of the eastern city of Baalbek, in addition to the deaths of four rescuers in the last 24 hours in the south of the country.
“Linking Lebanon’s future to other conflicts in the region was not and is not in the interests of the Lebanese people,” Hochstein said, referring to Hezbollah’s demand that any ceasefire in Lebanon be tied to an end to the war in Lebanon. Gaza Strip.
Hochstein also stated that UN Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, should be the basis for a new ceasefire.
However, “no one has done anything to implement it”, which is why complying with it “is not enough” and the parties to the conflict will have to accept new commitments, he added.
Under Resolution 1701, only the Lebanese Army and the UN peacekeeping force, Unifil, can be deployed to areas south of the Lebanese Litani River, close to the Israeli border.
Despite the resolution, Hezbollah remains present in southern Lebanon and in October last year began launching cross-border attacks against Israel, in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas.
Last week, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told AFP that his government was ready to reinforce the army presence in southern Lebanon if there was a ceasefire.
Blinken’s new spin
Clashes on both sides of the border began after the incursion, in October 7th 2023, of Hamas fighters who killed 1,206 people in southern Israel, according to a tally by AFP based on official Israeli data and which includes hostages who died in captivity in Gaza.
Of the 251 people kidnapped in the attack, 97 remain trapped in Gaza, of which 34 were declared dead by the Israeli Army.
The attack triggered the war in Gaza that has killed 42,603 people, most of them civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the territory administered by Hamas and considered reliable by the UN.
In September, Israel expanded the conflict into Lebanon, vowing to fight Hezbollah until it secures its northern border, but the Lebanese movement has said it will not end its fight until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
This Monday, the group announced new attacks against Israeli troops and the official news agency YEARS announced clashes as the Israeli Army “tries to advance”.
The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenwill begin a new tour of the Middle East on Tuesday to try to boost negotiations and avoid a regional escalation, after Israel promised to respond to an Iranian missile attack on its territory on October 1.
The Israeli police announced, this Monday, that they arrested seven Israelis accused of spying on behalf of Tehran, in “one of the most serious cases in recent years”, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Israel bombed branches of the Al Qard Al Hassan financial organizationlinked to Hezbollah, whom he accuses of financing the group’s weapons.
Israeli strikes hit the headquarters of Al Qard Al Hassan in the cities of Nabatieh and Tyre, according to the Lebanese news agency. YEARS.
Hezbollah continued firing rockets at northern Israel, which was targeted by “dozens of projectiles” on Monday, according to the Israeli Army.
Air traffic was briefly halted at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurión airport when the Israeli army said it intercepted five drones over the Mediterranean Sea before they entered Israeli territory.
After weakening the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, Israel transferred most of its operations to Lebanon, with the aim of allowing around 60,000 Israelis displaced by the Shiite group’s bombings to return to their homes.
However, Israel maintains its offensive in Palestinian territory and launched a major air and land campaign in the north of the Palestinian enclave on October 6, with the aim, according to its Army, of preventing the regrouping of Hamas fighters.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, at least 400,000 people are “trapped” in the north of the Palestinian territory.
