US Envoy works to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah
The US wants to stop the fighting before the new US president, Donald Trump, takes office in January.
US envoy Amos Hochstein travels to Israel after talks in Beirut to try and end the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A US official is trying to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a group from Lebanon. US envoy Amos Hochstein has been talking to leaders in Lebanon to find a way to stop the war. He’s planning to go to Israel next to try to get a ceasefire.
Hochstein arrived in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. He met with government officials and leaders from Hezbollah, who agreed to a ceasefire proposal from the United States, but with a few comments.
After meeting with Nabih Berri, the head of the Lebanese parliament, Hochstein said, “We made more progress today than yesterday.” Berri is the person Hezbollah chose to talk with the US about the ceasefire.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group gave their feedback on the ceasefire draft to Hochstein. Qassem said the next step depends on Israel. He asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu really wanted peace.
Hezbollah said it is ready to keep fighting if needed. The group is still launching rockets into Israel and fighting Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
The war has caused a lot of damage in Lebanon. Israel started its attacks in September after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. This happened right after Hamas started fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Israel says the goal of the war is to protect people in northern Israel, where many people had to leave their homes because of the rocket attacks. Hezbollah’s rockets hit big cities like Tel Aviv this week.
The war has been hard for Hezbollah, too. The group lost its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and other important leaders.
The US wants to stop the fighting before the new US president, Donald Trump, takes office in January. Hochstein said the current US administration is working with Trump’s team to keep the talks going.
Diplomats are trying to restart peace talks based on a 2006 UN resolution. This plan says Lebanon should control weapons near the Israeli border, but Hezbollah should not have an army there.
Israel wants the right to act against Hezbollah if it feels it needs to, even if there is a ceasefire. Lebanon does not agree with this.
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said any peace deal must allow Israel to protect its people. Hezbollah, however, wants to make sure Lebanon’s rights are respected and is focused on finding a political solution.
Speaker Nabih Berri said the US plan did not include Israel’s demand for the freedom to act.
The fighting has caused a lot of death and destruction. Lebanon’s health ministry says 3,544 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023, including 902 women and children. Most of these deaths happened because of Israel’s airstrikes.
Israel has lost lives, too. Hezbollah’s rockets killed 43 civilians in northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Also, 73 Israeli soldiers have died in battles and rocket attacks.