Israel hits southern Beirut as ceasefire terms come into focus

A senior Lebanese official has signalled that Hezbollah is ready to pull its forces away from the Lebanese-Israeli border in any ceasefire, whilst rejecting Israel's demand for freedom to act against the Iran-backed group in the future.

Pressing its offensive against Hezbollah, Israel launched air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs for a third consecutive day, levelling more buildings in the area of the Lebanese capital controlled by the group.

Ali Hassan Khalil, speaking to Al Jazeera late on Wednesday, said Lebanon was ready to "precisely" implement a UN Security Council resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Its terms require Hezbollah to remove fighters and weapons from areas between the border and the Litani River, which lies about 30km from Lebanon's southern border.

Asked whether Hezbollah had informed him of a readiness to withdraw to the Litani, Khalil — a close Hezbollah ally and top aide to Lebanon's parliament speaker — said the group had expressed its commitment to 1701.

The resolution, he added, "contained a clear set of provisions". "Yes, the party is committed to what is stated in these texts," he said.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows since launching an offensive against the group in Lebanon in late September, unleashing air strikes, sending troops into the south, and killing top Hezbollah leaders including Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Despite the blows it has suffered, Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel and has been battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south, where Israel said on Wednesday six soldiers had been killed in combat.

The United States and other world powers say a ceasefire must be based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which demands that areas south of the Litani be free of any weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

Israel long complained it was never implemented, pointing to Hezbollah weapons and fighters at the border. Lebanon in turn accused Israel of violating the resolution, with Israeli warplanes regularly violating its airspace.

White House envoy Amos Hochstein, the US official who has led several fruitless attempts to broker a ceasefire over the last year, told Axios earlier this week that he thought "there is a shot" at a truce in Lebanon soon.

Khalil said Lebanese negotiators had reached agreement on "a certain text" with Hochstein during his last visit to Beirut.

Hochstein had been due to communicate this to the Israeli side and then send any remarks back to Beirut, Khalil said. "We are waiting, and God willing, soon there will be the draft that he has reached," he said.

Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon over the last year, according to Israel.