Israeli ambassador says Hezbollah ceasefire deal could arrive ‘within days’

The two sides are close to a deal, Israel’s ambassador to Washington said.

Bulldozers remove the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit Sunday night in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon — Air strikes continue in southern Lebanon (AP)

The Israeli ambassador to Washington has said a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days”.

Ambassador Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio that there remained “points to finalise” and that any deal required agreement from the government.

But he said “we are close to a deal” and that “it can happen within days”.

Among the issues that remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon.

An air strike in Lebanon — There is hope for a ceasefire deal (AP)

Hezbollah did not adhere to a UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between the sides that made similar provisions, and Israel has concerns that it could stage a Hamas-style cross-border attack from southern Lebanon if it maintains a heavy presence there.

Lebanon says Israel also violated the 2006 resolution.

It is not clear whether Lebanon would agree to the demand.

The optimism surrounding a deal comes after a top US envoy held talks between the sides last week in a bid to clinch an agreement.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8 2023, a day after Hamas’ raid on southern Israel, setting off more than a year of fighting. That escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli air strikes in Lebanon and later an Israeli ground incursion into the country’s south.

Lebanese men stand outside their damaged shop, — Civilians have counted the cost of the bombardment (AP)

Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israeli cities and towns, including some 250 on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader has suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be “sentenced to death” for his role in the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and in Lebanon.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks during an event in which he spoke to members of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Khamenei referenced the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Israel’s former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

“What the Zionist regime did in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime. Now they have issued a warrant for their arrest. This is not enough,” Khamenei said, according to remarks published by the state-run IRNA news agency.

Ayatollah Ali Khameini — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for a death sentence for Israeli leaders (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

“Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime must be sentenced to death.”

The International Criminal Court at the Hague does not issue death sentences.

Khamenei also insisted those in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance”, like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, would be stronger after the war.

“The idiots should not think that bombing houses and hospitals in Gaza and Lebanon is a victory,” he said. “The enemy has not become the winner in Gaza and Lebanon, and it will not be the winner.”