The Lebanese government says any deal should be based on United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The resolution includes the removal of the group’s fighters and weapons from areas between the Blue Line – the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River, about 30 km (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

A potential agreement would likely include the deployment of additional Lebanese army troops to the area and a mechanism to monitor its implementation, although details remained unclear.

Israel, however, wants the right to act inside Lebanon if there is any violation of an agreement. There are no signs that Hezbollah or the Lebanese government would be willing to accept such a request.

Hezbollah has been severely weakened after two months of intense airstrikes that destroyed much of its infrastructure and killed many of its leaders. But after the initial shock, the group appears to have regrouped, analysts say, and continues to carry out daily attacks on northern Israel, though not with the same intensity.

Speaking in Beirut during a visit by Ali Larijani, senior adviser to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the Lebanese government’s priority was to reach a ceasefire and implement Resolution 1701 in ” in its entirety, without modifications or interpretations that differ from the content of the resolution and its provisions”. He added that negotiations to try to reach “agreement” were continuing.