Hezbollah submitted its response to the cease-fire proposal presented by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein Lebanon's LBCI channel reported late on Sunday. Hochstein is due to arrive in Beirut as early as Tuesday and receive the official Lebanese position.
According to the report, Beirut accepts the outline of the deal but will introduce changes and demand clarifications regarding U.S. assurance to Israel that the IDF would be able to operate in Lebanon should the terms of the cease-fire agreement be violated. Beirut rejects any Israeli operations on its territory.
Israel requested a letter from the U.S. ensuring freedom of action against Hezbollah if the Lebanese army or the peacekeeping force that would be deployed to the south fail to respond.
If there is progress on an agreement, Hochstein is expected to travel to Israel after his visit to Beirut. According to senior officials who were privy to details of the negotiations, Iran was not expected to prevent Lebanon from agreeing to the cease-fire. "Iran wants to calm things down. They are playing the long game. To them, there is no problem reaching a deal," the officials said.
Saudi Arabia's Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper cited sources in Lebanon who said that the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, kept in touch with Hochstein and his team. "There is serious concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ultimately reject the deal."
IDF strikes on Beirut on Sunday
Israel has increased its attacks on Beirut, and on Sunday conducted attacks strikes outside the Dahieh neighborhood, Hezbollah's stronghold in the city. An Israeli official said the attacks are "a symptom of attempts to finalize the deal."
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