Lebanon cease-fire within reach: Official

The United Nations Security Council and senior officials have doubled down on their calls for a cease-fire amid reports that a deal could be within reach in Lebanon.

The appeals came on Monday during a briefing to the 15-member Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, just days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders and after the US veto of a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

Elias Bou Saab, the deputy parliament speaker of Lebanon, told Reuters there were "no serious obstacles "left in the Washington-proposed cease-fire with Israel, "unless (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu changes his mind".

According to the report, the proposal would entail Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon and regular Lebanese army troops deploying in the border region within 60 days.

Netanyahu was expected to convene a high-level security cabinet in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to approve a 60-day cease-fire after more than a year of fighting, the Times of Israel reported, adding that Israel was accepting a cessation of hostilities but "not an end to the war on Hezbollah".

However, in Gaza, there is still little hope of a cease-fire and the situation there is getting worse.

In his briefing on Monday, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Muhannad Hadi said developments across Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, suggested "we are at imminent risk" of losing the frameworks operating since 1967 and 1973 when the Security Council adopted the resolutions aimed at laying the foundations for a just and lasting peace.

If the forces seeking to undermine the two-state solution are successful, he said, the collapse of the relevant principles and institutional structures "will have a ripple effect that could spread far beyond the Middle East".

"We need a cease-fire; we need to get the hostages out, we need lifesaving support to be delivered safely now, and we need to ensure the long-term safety and security of Palestinians and Israelis," Hadi said.

At a news briefing the same day, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said 1.6 million people are now living in makeshift shelters across Gaza and blamed "severe restrictions" that have been challenging for aid agencies to prepare for the rainy season.

The UN said about 100 flood-prone areas were hosting 450,000 men, women and children in Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah and Rafah.

In Italy, at the outreach session of the second G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, attended by several Arab leaders, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also pushed for an immediate cease-fire, the unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid, and progress on the two-state solution.

Ayman Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University in Jenin, West Bank, lauded "some serious attempts on the international and regional level" to de-escalate the situation in Lebanon and Gaza.

"Israel is involved in both these conflicts with the support of the US, and I think there are many alarming signals that are coming from these two fronts. Frankly speaking, the Lebanon front is easier for a peaceful, political settlement for many reasons," Yousef told China Daily.

"I am a bit optimistic when it comes to Lebanon. … But in the case of Gaza, I'm still very much pessimistic," said Yousef.

Even as officials and experts have expressed growing optimism over a cease-fire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.

Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending large plumes of smoke into the sky. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Other strikes hit the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.

Belal Alakhras, a political analyst and researcher at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, told China Daily that Israel's approach to the cease-fire negotiations in Lebanon "exposes the complex predicament it has created for itself".

"Responsible global powers with significant influence need to critically examine these Israeli strategies and prioritize pushing for genuine regional stability that serves the broader geopolitical interests, rather than being swayed by potentially misleading pretenses," he added.

Agencies contributed to this story.

jan@chinadailyapac.com