Lebanese PM Hopes Ceasefire Deal With Israel To Be Agreed Soon

JAKARTA - Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati hopes the ceasefire agreement with Israel will be announced in the next few days. The ceasefire is planned to last for 60 days.

Najib Mikati admitted that he did not believe the deal would likely take place until after the US presidential election. But he is optimistic about the option of a ceasefire after speaking with the US envoy to the Middle East Amos Hochstein, who is scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday.

"Hochstein, when he called me, suggested to me that we could reach an agreement before the end of this month and before November 5," Mikati told Lebanese Al Jadeed television reported by Reuters, Thursday, October 31.

"We are doing everything we can and we must remain optimistic that in the next few hours or days, we will carry out a ceasefire," continued Mikati.

Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman Sean Savett did not talk much about ceasefire drafts in Lebanon for 60 days.

There are many reports and designs circulating. It doesn't reflect the state of the negotiations at this time," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, October 30, Hezbollah's new leader, Naim Qassem, said Iranian-backed armed group would agree to a ceasefire within certain parameters if Israel wanted to stop the war.

But Israel has so far not approved any proposals that can be discussed.

The statement was made in Qassem's first speech as secretary general, a day after Hezbollah announced his election for the post after Israel killed the group's longtime leader, Hassan Nasollah.

Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have been at war for the past year along with Israel's war in Gaza after Hezbollah attacked Israeli targets in solidarity with its Hamas allies in Gaza.

Conflicts in Lebanon have increased dramatically over the past five weeks, with most of the 2,800 deaths reported by the Lebanese Ministry of Health over the past 12 months occurring during that period.