Hezbollah ready to bend

PRIORITY: WILL ACCEPT TRUCE, IF OFFERED, WITH REASONABLE TERMS

More than a month into its war with Israel, Hezbollah says it is ready for a ceasefire, but there are limits to what it can accept after suffering devastating attacks, analysts say.

The Iran-backed group said this week it would accept a ceasefire, if offered and if the terms were "suitable", acknowledging it had been dealt "painful" blows by Israel.

Also this week, Lebanon's premier Najib Mikati said he had received signals from US envoy Amos Hochstein that a truce could be reached before the US elections on Tuesday.

With much of its senior leadership killed and its strongholds pulverised, Hezbollah could use the recovery time a truce would offer. A ceasefire is a "priority" for Hezbollah so it can "reorganise its ranks", said Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to the group.

"It will agree to the deployment of the army [in south Lebanon] and to stay away from the borders, but nothing more than that," he said, referring to Israeli demands for Hezbollah to retreat some 30km from the frontier.