Biden and Macron set to announce ceasefire deal, Lebanese sources say
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel within 36 hours under existing plans, four senior Lebanese sources say.
Earlier, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported that Biden and Macron would declare a 60-day ceasefire on Tuesday. The White House said earlier that a deal is “close”, without providing more details. French officials said talks were ongoing.
US says ceasefire talks between Israel and Hezbollah are ‘close’ to deal
The discussions the United States government had on the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah were positive and are headed in the right direction towards a deal, the US White House says.
“We’re close,” said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. “The discussions … were constructive, and we believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But, yeah, nothing is done until everything is done.”
US State Department on Lebanon ceasefire: ‘We are not there yet’
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller has offered little in terms of updates on a ceasefire in Lebanon. “We have made significant progress with getting towards a resolution,” Miller told reporters, “but we are not done yet. Nothing is final until everything is final.”
Miller acknowledged that US officials had expressed optimism about a ceasefire before – and that none had materialised yet.
“We are hopeful we can get an agreement, but we need both parties to get to yes,” he said. “This has been an incredibly frustrating process.” “There have been many times when we thought we were going to be getting to yes in both [Lebanon and Gaza], and for various reasons, the parties didn’t get there.”
Netanyahu meeting his coalition tomorrow to discuss ceasefire proposal
Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that coalition leaders have been asked to meet with the prime minister on Tuesday regarding the proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The newspaper Maariv also confirmed that the political and security cabinet will meet on Tuesday evening to approve the plan that would see residents going back to their homes in the north.
