UN calls on parties to ‘accept a truce’ as Israel hits Lebanon

A senior UN official on Monday called on all parties involved in the conflict in Lebanon to “accept a ceasefire,” as new Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hizbollah stronghold.

The violence follows top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell calling for an immediate ceasefire on Sunday and after a US envoy said last week that a deal was within grasp.

“The situation remains grave across the region,” senior envoy Muhannad Hadi told the Security Council on behalf of UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland.

“Israeli military operations continued across the Blue Line with Lebanon, as did the firing of rockets by Hizbollah toward Israel, including a barrage this weekend,” he said. “I welcome the ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a cessation of hostilities and urge the parties to accept a ceasefire anchored in the full implementation of UNSCR 1701,” Hadi said in the remarks.

Lebanon’s deputy speaker of parliament Elias Bou Saab told Reuters that there were “no serious obstacles” left to beginning the implementation of a US-proposed 60-day truce to end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah. He said one sticking point on who would monitor the ceasefire had been resolved in the last 24 hours by agreeing to set up a five-country committee, including France and chaired by the United States.

A Lebanese official and Western diplomat told Reuters that the US had informed Lebanese officials a ceasefire could be announced “within hours.”

The Israeli ambassador to Washington says a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah group could be reached “within days.”

Ambassador Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio on Monday there remain “points to finalise” and any deal requires agreement from the government. But he said “we are close to a deal” and “it can happen within days.” Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet is set to convene on Tuesday to discuss a proposed ceasefire.

In a separate development, G7 foreign ministers met near Rome on Monday for two days of talks with regional counterparts on the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. The Group of Seven ministers will also discuss the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu and Hamas’ military chief, “and the possible effects on the current crises in Lebanon and Gaza,” Italy’s foreign ministry said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the talks in Fiuggi and Anagni alongside ministers from fellow G7 nations Britain, Canada, Germany, France and Japan, hosted by Italy’s Antonio Tajani.

“Unity is our strength at the moment, I’m referring above all to relations with the Russian Federation,” Tajani said as he kicked off the meeting.

“Strength does not mean a fortress. In fact, I have invited other countries to the meetings which will take place this afternoon and tomorrow, in order to have a broader and more concrete discussion”, he said.

The first session on Monday afternoon was dedicated to the situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea, notably efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that the momentum on Lebanon ceasefire talks seems to have picked up and they were now closer than they were a few days or weeks ago. “We are currently discussing with our partners from the Gulf States and the Arab world how we can, in this situation, at least perhaps resolve one of the major challenges, the situation in Lebanon, and finally achieve a ceasefire,” she said on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Italy. “The momentum now seems to be closer than it was a few days or even a few weeks ago.”

Israeli strikes pummelled south Beirut on Monday, Lebanese official media said, while health authorities reported 12 dead in a pair of attacks in the country’s south.

The Israeli military said in a statement on Monday afternoon that it had struck “approximately 25 targets” belonging to Hizbollah across the country, including in Nabatiyeh, Baalbek, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Beirut and the city’s outskirts.

Agencies