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Mon, Oct 21, 2024 | Rabi al-Thani 18, 1446 | DXB
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US holds ceasefire talks in Lebanon; Israel targets Hezbollah's finances
US envoy Hochstein says Lebanon and Israel just committing to UN resolution 1701 is not enough and that Washington is working on a new peace formula
- By
- Reuters
People inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a branch of the Al Qard Al Hassan finance group in the southern city of Tyre on October 21, 2024. — AFP
US envoy Amos Hochstein held talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday on conditions for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah after Israel struck branches across Lebanon of a financial institution linked to the group.
Diplomacy has failed to cool down Israel's raging conflicts with its two most dangerous and heavily armed regional militia foes — Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip — which are grinding into a second year.
Washington is hoping for a new push for peace in the Middle East following Israel's killing last week of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas and architect of the attacks on Israeli towns last year that precipitated Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.
US officials are seeking to broker a truce in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground campaign over the past month. It has killed most of the senior leadership of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed movement which says it is fighting Israel on behalf of the Palestinians.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said there was no alternative to UN Resolution 1701, but he added that "new understandings" could be reached to implement it, a statement issued by his office said on Monday.
US Envoy Amos Hochstein (L) meets Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut on October 21, 2024. — AFP
A UN peacekeeping mission is mandated by Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, to help the Lebanese army keep its southern border area with Israel free of weapons or armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state.
Hochstein said Lebanon and Israel just committing to UN resolution 1701 was not enough and that the United States was working to devise a formula to end the conflict once and for all.
The Israeli military said on Monday its warplanes struck short-range missile launchers in southern Lebanon which were directed towards northern Israeli settlements. Fifteen launchers were hit, it said.
Overnight, Israel attacked sites in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley targeting the branches of a banking system that Israel says is run by Hezbollah to finance its operations. Hundreds of families fled homes near the targeted locations ahead of the strikes, though no casualties were immediately reported.
"Strike, strike, strike with planes and drones, and we don’t know who they are targeting and who will die each day," said Micheline Jabbour, who works in a Beirut pastry shop.
The Israeli military said before its overnight attacks that it was targeting the Al Qard Al Hassan Association, an alternative to the Lebanese banking system which the US has said is used by Hezbollah to manage its finances.
The association has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs.
There was no immediate statement from the organisation, Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.
Beirut residents, already suffering from a devastating financial crisis, said they had little expectation that the US official's visit would bring a breakthrough.
"I see it dragging on, I see it taking longer. It’s still a play; where are we going? No one knows. Anyone who tells you they know is lying, especially these so-called leaders that appear on TV — they don’t know what they’re saying," said Tony Rawandos, 61, owner of a car workshop.
Israel's military has not slowed down its offensives and is also preparing to retaliate for an Iranian missile barrage earlier this month, though Washington has pressed it not to strike Iranian energy facilities or nuclear sites.
Iran has complained to the UN nuclear watchdog about Israel's threats against its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
The S. military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel, which is now "in place", US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a trip to Kyiv.
Israel's campaign in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. It says its aim is to drive Hezbollah fighters from the border region so tens of thousands of Israelis can return to homes they were forced to flee over the past year from Hezbollah cross-border fire in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has given the United States a document with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two US officials and two Israeli officials.
Israel demands its forces be allowed to engage in "active enforcement" to make sure Hezbollah does not rearm near the border, and wants its air force to have freedom of operation in Lebanese air space, Axios reported, citing an Israeli official.
A US official told Axios it was highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel's conditions. — reuters
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