Lebanon is Considering the US Proposal for a 60-Day Ceasefire with Israel

According to AFP, Lebanese officials have referred to details of the US proposal regarding a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, reporting that Lebanon is currently reviewing this plan. This news was reported on Friday, November 25, citing two Lebanese officials, one of whom stated that the US proposal includes 13 points. According to this Lebanese official, the proposal includes a 60-day ceasefire during which Lebanon must begin deploying its army forces along the border with Israel. This official also mentioned that Israel has not yet responded to this proposal. The news of the US ceasefire proposal was initially published by Reuters. According to this news agency, Lisa Johnson, the US ambassador in Beirut, provided the draft ceasefire agreement to Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, on Thursday. Nabih Berri, known to be close to Hezbollah, confirmed the receipt of the US proposal in an interview with the newspaper 'Asharq Al-Awsat' on Friday. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Berri stated that this proposal includes the formation of a monitoring committee for the implementation of Resolution 1701 with the participation of some Western countries, 'and we will not pursue it.' Based on this report, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament did not refer to further details and only said, 'Work is in progress, and the atmosphere is positive.' Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, an advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, met with senior Lebanese officials, including the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament, in Beirut on Friday. He, who had traveled from Damascus to Beirut, told reporters that he was carrying a direct message from Ali Khamenei for Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, and Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. The Hezbollah group is affiliated with Iran, and both sides have stated that Tehran has always provided financial, military, and training support to this group. Larijani emphasized that Iran supports any decision Lebanon makes in the ceasefire negotiations, responding to a question about whether the Islamic Republic seeks to sabotage the US proposal by saying, 'We are not looking to disrupt anything; we are looking to solve issues.' The advisor to the Supreme Leader also stated in an interview with Al-Mayadeen, an Arabic-language television close to Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic, that the proposed ceasefire includes points that 'could lead to an agreement in the future.' On the other hand, Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, emphasized 'support for the positions of the Lebanese government in implementing Resolution 1701' and 'not taking positions that would create sensitivities among Lebanese groups and favor one group' in a post about his meeting with Ali Larijani on the social media platform X. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in the border areas of the two countries have continued, but Israel has been attacking positions related to Hezbollah deep within Lebanese territory for about two months. During this time, diplomatic efforts led by the United States and France to establish a ceasefire have been unsuccessful, and according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the number of casualties from Israeli attacks in various areas of Lebanon over the past year has reached 3,440. Israel emphasizes that it targets Hezbollah-related positions in its attacks on various areas of Lebanon and insists on the safe return of tens of thousands of its citizens who have been displaced from their homes in the border strip for over a year. The news of Lebanon's pursuit and examination of the ceasefire proposal comes as a senior official from the extremist group Hamas also announced on Friday the group's readiness for a ceasefire and called on Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, to pressure Israel to end its attacks. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.