Report: Netanyahu offered a ceasefire, Hezbollah responded with shelling operation
The Lebanese state has no option left but to seek a humanitarian truce for Eid al-Fitr, after the failure of efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel is insistsling on Hezbollah's complete "surrender" before halting its operations in Lebanon, while the latter links its position to that of Iran, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday.
A high-ranking Lebanese official meanwhile revealed to the daily that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent a ceasefire proposal, which was conveyed by French President Emmanuel Macron to President Joseph Aoun ten days ago. However, Hezbollah's closure of communication channels and subsequent launch of a large-scale military operation thwarted this initiative and, in turn, intensified Israeli intransigence.
"Hezbollah's intransigence remains the biggest obstacle for Lebanon in attempts to end the war. Formally, the party refuses to present a clear political statement outlining its readiness to end the war and its objectives, while its military escalation coincides with political efforts to halt the conflict," the daily said.
A Lebanese official source confirmed to Asharq al-Awsat that no date or location have yet been set for the commencement of negotiations with Israel. He noted that there has been no official Israeli response yet, but that Tel Aviv is sending messages to Lebanon through Macron and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
"These messages pose a fundamental (Israeli) question that Lebanon has yet to answer: 'If we stop the fighting, will Hezbollah stop firing rockets?'" the report said.
However, Lebanon cannot afford to waste time, as the source emphasized. Therefore, the President is working to finalize the formation of the Lebanese negotiating delegation, which is supposed to consist of four figures representing the "national Lebanese spectrum," meaning the main religious communities.
The sole Christian representative, former Ambassador Simon Karam, who represented Lebanon in the "Mechanism" meetings, has already been named. Other members include the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Abdul Sattar Issa (Sunni), nominated by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Shawki Bou Nassar (Druze), nominated by Druze leader Walid Jumblat.
Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri remains adamant in his refusal to include a Shiite member in the negotiating delegation, stipulating a ceasefire and the return of displaced persons as preconditions.
An official source confirmed to Asharq al-Awsat that Israel is insisting, in its indirect messages, on the presence of a Shiite member in the Lebanese negotiating team. The source believes that Berri can play a pivotal role in the negotiation process, as he is the only one capable of exerting some kind of pressure on Hezbollah at this stage and in subsequent stages.
The official source does not see the American silence as a negative sign. Washington, according to the source, is fully preoccupied with the war with Iran, but it certainly hasn't given Israel free rein in Lebanon; otherwise, the situation would be different.
The source confirmed that the Lebanese president's initiative has found a receptive audience in the United States, revealing that President Donald Trump's advisor on African affairs, Massad Boulos, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have been officially tasked with following up on this matter and leading the anticipated negotiation process.
The source indicated that President Aoun is deeply concerned about what Israel is planning for Lebanon in the coming period and is determined to avert it before it is too late.
According to the source, the pressure of displacement has become immense on Lebanese state institutions, given the lack of external support. The source questioned who will assist in reconstruction given the instability imposed by the wars in the region and the world's preoccupation with its own difficult economic situations.
The source revealed that the United Nations, through its Secretary-General António Guterres, launched a humanitarian appeal during his visit to Beirut to raise $300 million to address the displacement crisis, but it has barely managed to raise $100 million, which is insufficient to deal with 1.3 million displaced persons.
The source confirmee that Aoun's initiative does not currently include the goal of a peace agreement with Israel, but rather technical negotiations, beginning with a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, the release of prisoners, and border demarcation.
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