Israel, Hezbollah trade fire ahead of truce deal

Israeli war planes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs with a wave of airstrikes yesterday just before Israel’s cabinet met to discuss a ceasefire deal with its Hezbollah foes.
A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic a deal could be reached, clearing the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year.
Despite the possibility of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities raged yesterday.
Israeli strikes smashed more of Beirut’s densely-populated southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, with the Israeli military saying one barrage of strikes had hit 20 targets in the city in just 120 seconds. Israel had issued its biggest evacuation warning yet, telling civilians to leave 20 locations.
Lebanon reported three deaths in the Israeli strikes. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel.
The UN rights chief voiced concern about the escalation of bloodshed in Lebanon and his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.
Israel’s security cabinet under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to start meeting at 1400 GMT for up to three hours to discuss the ceasefire deal, which a senior Israeli official said was likely to be approved.
Hezbollah will remain active after its war with Israel ends, including by helping displaced Lebanese return to their villages and rebuilding areas destroyed by Israeli strikes, senior Hezbollah official and member of parliament Hassan Fadlallah said yesterday.
At a conference in Rome, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib expressed hope that a deal could be sealed by Tuesday [yesterday] night.
However, there was no indication that a truce in Lebanon would hasten a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in devastated Gaza, where Israel is battling Palestinian group Hamas.
The agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region – also a Hezbollah stronghold – within 60 days, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.