Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, a top Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday, describing the effort as the most serious yet to end the fighting.
Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon had delivered its written response to the US ambassador in Lebanon on Monday, and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was travelling to Beirut to continue talks.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Iran-backed Hezbollah endorsed its long-time ally Berri to negotiate over a ceasefire.
"Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere," Khalil said, declining to give further details. "All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (UN) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions," he said.
He was referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Its terms require Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the frontier.
Khalil said the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying if Israel did not want a solution, "it could make 100 problems".
Israel has long claimed that Resolution 1701 was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon has accused Israel of violations including flying warplanes in its airspace.
Khalil said Israel was trying to negotiate "under fire", a reference to an escalation of its bombardment of Beirut and the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. "This won't affect our position," he said.
Earlier, Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hochstein will visit Beirut on Tuesday, dismissing claims that he had cancelled the trip.
Axios had reported US officials as saying that Hochstein had informed Berri that he was postponing his visit until Lebanon clarifies its position over the ceasefire proposal.
The ball is in Lebanon’s court and he wanted answers before heading to Beirut, they added.
Berri dismissed the report, saying the envoy will visit as scheduled and he will be handed the Lebanese response to the US proposal.
Sources monitoring the negotiations told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri and his aides had remained in constant contact with Hochstein and his team to reach a final draft of the ceasefire that will be presented to Israel.
They confirmed that Lebanon had positively received the proposal, despite reservations, they added.
