Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope that a ceasefire to end Israeli attacks on Lebanon could be announced within days, as Israeli media reported a draft ceasefire agreement stipulating an initial 60-day cessation of fighting.
Mikati said he had become more optimistic about the possibility of a ceasefire after speaking Wednesday with Amos Horstein, the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, who is scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday.
“Hostein suggested to me during his phone call that we could reach an agreement before the end of this month, before November 5,” Mikati told Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV, referring to the date of the US election.
“We are doing everything we can and we must remain optimistic that a ceasefire will be reached in the next few hours or days,” Mikati said, adding, “We are cautiously optimistic.”
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported Washington’s leaked proposal to withdraw troops from Lebanon within the first week after Israel proposed a 60-day ceasefire.
Reuters obtained similar details about the proposal from two sources familiar with the matter.
Asked to comment on the leaks, White House national security spokesman Sean Savett said, “There are a lot of reports and drafts circulating.” “It does not reflect the current negotiation situation,” he said.
Kan reported that the draft had been submitted to Israeli leaders. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Beirut, said Mikati’s announcement about a possible ceasefire also came with a warning.
“He said the ceasefire must come with American guarantees. But what this means remains to be seen. And he said the Lebanese army would also need additional hardware, additional weapons and logistics equipment,” Stratford said.
Earlier Wednesday, Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said his fighters would only agree to a ceasefire if Israel stopped its attacks and the proposal was deemed appropriate.
“If Israel decides to stop its aggression, we say we will accept it, but on the terms we see fit,” Kassem said in a pre-recorded televised address from an undisclosed location.
“Because we will continue (the fight)… “We will not beg for a ceasefire, no matter how long it takes,” he said.
Kassem replaced Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Beirut in late September. He served as Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general for more than 30 years.
His speech came as Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 30 people were killed and 165 wounded in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours. This brings the total toll in Lebanon over the past year in conflict between Hezbollah and Israel to 2,822 people killed and 165 wounded. There are 12,937 injured.
Amid talk of a possible ceasefire, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon escalated Wednesday with a major airstrike on the historic eastern city of Baalbek, known for its Roman temples.
At least 19 people, including eight women, were killed in two villages in Lebanon’s Baalbek region, and tens of thousands of people, including many who had sought refuge in Baalbek from other regions, fled the Israeli bombing.
Bilal Raad, regional director of Lebanon’s Civil Defense, said the situation in the Baalbek region was chaotic.
He said that ahead of the Israeli bombing, “the whole city is wondering where to go, there is a lot of traffic and there is panic.”
