US awaits Lebanon response to Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire plan
An Israeli strike on the Mar Elias area of Beirut on Sunday night killed two people
The strikes in the past week, which have killed dozens of people in Lebanon, appear aimed at putting pressure on both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government to accept an agreement to end more than a year of conflict.
Details of the proposal remained unclear, after it was delivered last week by the US ambassador to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been backed by Hezbollah to negotiate.
Lebanese media reported the text had been received “positively”.
Israel has stepped up its air attacks on Lebanon’s south, where it also appears to be expanding a ground invasion, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut. In the capital, it has carried out the most violent wave of strikes yet on the southern suburbs, known as Dahieh, where Hezbollah is based.
On Monday central Beirut was hit for the second consecutive day and at least five people were killed, the Lebanese health ministry said.
A day earlier, the first air strikes in the area for about a month killed seven others, including Mohammed Afif, who acted as the Hezbollah spokesman and was one of the few remaining public faces of the group.
The recent attacks are seen as part of Israel’s strategy to force Hezbollah and Lebanon to agree to a ceasefire, and an indication that it is prepared to expand its offensive by killing non-military members of the group and striking places outside areas where the movement has a strong presence, possibly to stir anti-Hezbollah sentiment.
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