US special envoy Amos Hochstein said on a visit to Beirut that an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war was “now within our reach” as he met with officials to discuss a largely supported ceasefire plan of Lebanon.

The United States and France led efforts for a ceasefire in the war, which escalated in late September after nearly a year of deadly exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli troops.

Israel has expanded the focus of operations from Gaza to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border to allow tens of thousands of people displaced by the cross-border fire to return home.

Since clashes began with Hezbollah attacks on Israel, more than 3,510 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to authorities there. Most of the deaths have been recorded since late September, including more than 200 children, according to the UN.

Following a meeting Tuesday with Hezbollah-allied parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who led the mediation on behalf of the group, Hochstein told reporters he saw “a real opportunity” to end the Israel-Hezbollah war.

“I am here in Beirut to facilitate this decision, but ultimately it is the decision of the parties… Now it is up to us,” he added.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem was expected to give a speech later on Tuesday.

A Lebanese official who has closely followed the truce talks said Monday that his government has a “very positive view” of the plan.

Another official said Lebanon was waiting for Hochstein’s arrival “to be able to discuss certain outstanding points with him.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would continue to carry out military operations against Hezbollah even if a ceasefire were reached.

“The most important thing is not (the deal that) will be put on paper,” Netanyahu told parliament.

“We will be forced to provide security in the north (of Israel) and systematically conduct operations against Hezbollah attacks … even after a ceasefire,” to prevent the group from rebuilding, he said.

Netanyahu also said there was no evidence that Hezbollah would respect any ceasefire.

– Deaths in Lebanon and Israel –

Hezbollah began its cross-border attacks on Israel in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Hamas attack — the deadliest in Israel’s history — killed 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

The Health Ministry in Gaza, run by Hamas, said the death toll in the war had reached 43,972 people, most of them civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Since expanding its operations in Lebanon in September, Israel has carried out extensive bombing campaigns primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds there, although some strikes have hit areas outside the Iran-backed group’s control.

A strike on Monday in central Beirut killed five people and wounded 31 others, the health ministry said.

The area of ​​the capital that was hit has in recent weeks become home to many who fled Hezbollah’s main stronghold in the southern suburbs.

The UN said on Tuesday that more than 200 children had been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated its campaign.

“Despite more than 200 children killed in Lebanon in less than two months, a disconcerting pattern has emerged: Their deaths are met with inaction by those capable of stopping this violence,” said James Elder, a spokesman for the agency. UN for children UNICEF.

Israel also sent ground troops into Lebanon, while Hezbollah continued to launch projectiles into Israel on an almost daily basis.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said about 40 projectiles were fired into central and northern Israel, slightly injuring four people.

It followed Monday’s volleys that killed a woman in Shfaram and wounded 10 people there and five in the Israeli commercial center of Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah said it launched attack drones against “sensitive military points … in the city of Tel Aviv” and shot down an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon.

The group said on Tuesday it had fired a volley of rockets into the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.

– “Comprehensive” ceasefire –

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States had shared proposals with both Lebanon and Israel for a ceasefire.

“Both sides have reacted to the proposals we have put forward,” he said.

“There was an exchange of different ideas about how to see what we believe is in everyone’s interest, which is the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and we will continue to stick to that process.”

Under UN Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces deployed in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is in control.

He also called on Israel to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

Another Lebanese official said US Ambassador Lisa Johnson discussed the plan last week with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Berri.

The official said the proposal contained “13 points on five pages”.

If a deal is reached, the United States and France will issue a joint statement, he said, followed by a 60-day truce during which Lebanon will redeploy troops to the southern border area near Israel.

However, Eyal Pinko, a retired Israeli navy commander and senior researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said the hope for a quick ceasefire was “wishful thinking “.

“The most important thing that is required is that there will be no Hezbollah within 30 to 40 kilometers of the border, so that Israel can protect itself if there is a ground maneuver,” Pinko said.

“Iran and Hezbollah would not accept that.”

He warned that Israel was still “very far from bringing southern Lebanon under control” and warned that “more surprises” were to come.