Israel close to ceasefire deal with Lebanon

Israel's security cabinet is due to meet today to decide on a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon after more than a year of fighting between Israeli forces and the Shia militia Hezbollah.

- Julian Borger & Andrew Roth

Under the deal being considered, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would reportedly withdraw entirely from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah would pull its heavy weapons north of the Litani River, about 16 miles north of the Israeli border, and the Lebanese army would move in to provide security in the border zone, alongside an existing UN peacekeeping force, during an initial 60-day transition phase.

The White House national security spokesperson cautioned yesterday that the deal the Biden administration had been trying to broker for months had not yet been finalised.

"There's still some process, things I think they're working through," John Kirby said. Calling the discussions so far constructive, he added: "We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But nothing is done until everything is done.

Nothing's negotiated till everything is negotiated." Hezbollah has not been a direct party to the talks, in which the Lebanese government has given assurances that the militia would abide by the terms of the deal.

Under the proposed ceasefire blueprint, the US would lead a five-country international monitoring committee that would act as a referee on infringements, and the US is reported to have offered guaranteed support for Israeli military operations over the border in the event that Hezbollah mounts an attack or reconstitutes its forces south of the Litani.