A U.S. envoy has arrived in Beirut with the aim of discussing a potential cease-fire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Amos Hochstein, a prominent advisor to President Joe Biden, landed in Lebanon on Tuesday, following reports that Hezbollah showed a favorable inclination towards a U.S. draft proposal intended to halt hostilities that have persisted for over 13 months.
The proposal being considered by the U.S. seeks to create an end to the violence by removing Israeli ground troops from Lebanese territory and positioning Hezbollah forces farther away from the Israeli border. This initiative would also entail an increased presence of both Lebanese military forces and United Nations peacekeepers in the buffer zone situated in southern Lebanon.
Hochstein is scheduled to meet with Nabih Berri, the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament and an ally of Hezbollah, who has been acting as a mediator for the militant group.
His visit comes on the heels of an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut that resulted in five fatalities and numerous injuries, marking the third such attack in the heart of the city within a two-day period.
Since late September, Israel has significantly intensified its airstrikes on Lebanese territory, with the expressed intent of diminishing Hezbollah’s military capabilities and ending the rocket attacks directed at Israel.
Hezbollah began retaliating with rocket fire on October 8, 2023, shortly after Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel that initiated the current conflict in Gaza. Both Hezbollah and Hamas receive support from Iran, and their continued fighting has led to over 3,500 deaths in Lebanon and nearly 15,000 injuries, as reported by the Lebanese Health Ministry. Additionally, about 1.2 million individuals, constituting roughly a quarter of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced due to the conflict.
On the Israeli side, the death toll stands at 87 soldiers and 50 civilians, which includes foreign agricultural workers, as a result of attacks employing rockets, drones, and missiles.
In a related development, today marks the anniversary of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
On November 19, 2023, Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a helicopter-borne operation that led to the seizure of the car carrier Galaxy Leader. The ship, along with its 25 crew members, remains in captivity, prompting the United Nations Security Council to issue a statement urging the rebels to release both the ship and its personnel.
Since that incident, the Houthis have targeted more than 90 commercial vessels, resulting in the sinking of two and the loss of four sailors. Other missile and drone attacks initiated by the Houthis have either been thwarted by a U.S.-led coalition patrolling the Red Sea or have failed to hit their intended targets, which also comprised Western military vessels.