US Envoy Amos Hochstein to Hold Ceasefire Talks with Lebanese Officials: Sources

US envoy Amos Hochstein will be in Beirut on Monday for talks with Lebanese officials on conditions for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, two sources in Lebanon told Reuters, as Israel expanded its air campaign on the group’s assets overnight.

Israeli strikes late on Sunday hit several branches of a financial institution linked to Hezbollah in Beirut, Lebanon’s south and the Bekaa Valley, but no casualties were immediately reported.


Israel has reportedly 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 has demanded its army forces be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to make sure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border, Axios reported, citing an Israeli official.

Israel also demanded its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese air space, the report added.

A US official told Axios it was highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel’s conditions.

Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah erupted a year ago when the group began launching rockets in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

At the start of October, Israel launched a ground assault inside Lebanon in an attempt to stabilize the border region for its citizens who had fled rocket attacks in northern Israel.

The US and regional powers have tried for a year to secure a ceasefire in Gaza but the efforts have been unsuccessful, leaving Lebanese officials and many diplomats skeptical about the chances for a truce in Lebanon.