Israeli strikes killed at least 47 people in eastern Lebanon yesterday, a Lebanese official said, pressing the campaign against the Iran-backed Hizbollah group as a US mediator sought to advance ceasefire talks in Israel.
US mediator Amos Hochstein, who said a ceasefire was “within our grasp” during a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz. There were no immediate statements.
Indicating there were still gaps to close, a senior Lebanese official said that Beirut had sought changes to the US ceasefire proposal, to include ensuring a speedier withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon.
The diplomacy marks the most serious attempt yet to end the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hizbollah, part of the regional spillover of the Gaza war that erupted more than a year ago.
Bachir Khodr, governor of Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel province, said at least 47 were killed and 22 wounded in Israeli strikes in the Baalbek region. Posting on X, he said rescue operations were underway.
Beirut shook as Israeli air strikes hit the Hizbollah-controlled southern suburbs about a dozen times, sending up clouds of debris, in some of the most intense air strikes yet. Residents have largely fled the area since Israel went on the offensive against Hizbollah in September.