Lebanese Contact AS-France, Strive For Hezbollah-Israel Armistice

Temporary PM Lebanoon Najib Mikati (center)/PHOTO via X @Najib_Mikati

JAKARTA - Efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon have intensified over the past few hours, according to Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati's office.

Contacts between the United States and France are underway to revive the ceasefire proposal between Hezbollah and Israel.

US President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a 21-day ceasefire during the UN General Assembly last month.

Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah three days after the proposal and launched an intensive attack on the group, thus thwarting negotiations.

Netanyahu publicly rejected a ceasefire ahead of the killings. The ceasefire outlook has eased after Iran, which supports Hezbollah, fired a series of missiles at Israel last week.

"There has been contact between the United States and France with the aim of reviving a ceasefire declaration for a certain period of time to continue the search for a political solution," Mikati's office on X said.

Mikati said her government was ready to implement the 2006 Security Council Resolution 1701, calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The resolution also stipulates that Hezbollah forces must withdraw to the north of the Litani River in Lebanon, and only the Lebanese military may hold positions in border areas.

Hezbollah's top official Naim Qassem said on Tuesday his group supported a ceasefire attempt spearheaded by Shia allies in Lebanon.

This is the first time the group has publicly supported a ceasefire and has provided no conditions to stop the war in Gaza.