DRAFT LEBANON CEASEFIRE TO PUSH HEZBOLLAH FROM ISRAELI BORDER

Wed 30 October 2024:

The United States will help oversee a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire by which UN forces and the Lebanese army replace the Iran-backed group in the south of the country, according to an unverified draft published by Israel’s Channel 11.

“During initial 60-day implementation period, Lebanon will dismantle and confiscate all military assets, arms, and infrastructure of all non-state armed groups south of the line (of the Litani River),” the document said.

The origin and author of the printed document stamped “DRAFT” and subtitled “for discussion only” was not immediately clear and none of the relevant parties have yet commented on its authenticity. It was dated October 26.

The period of calm would start with a 60-day ceasefire and envisions 10,000 Lebanese soldiers eventually deploying to the rugged Lebanese region from which Hezbollah draws much of its support and has been heavily bombed and invaded by Israeli forces.

UN Resolution 1701, a 2006 international agreement by which Hezbollah would be largely replaced and checked by UN forces, would be the basis of the ceasefire according to the document.

Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the group would agree to a ceasefire under certain unspecified conditions if Israel wanted to stop the war, but that Israel had so far not agreed to any proposal that could be discussed.

Lebanon’s health ministry has said 2,822 people have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon since October 2023 and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced.

Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced by nearly a year of fighting near northern border areas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made returning them safely to their homes a main war goal.