US urges Lebanon to declare unilateral ceasefire with Israel amid tensions with Hezbollah: Report

In a statement to Reuters, Mikati’s office refuted the assertion that the US had asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral truce. It emphasised that the government’s position is clear in seeking a mutual ceasefire and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last conflict between the two adversaries in 2006.

A US official also denied that such a proposal had been made. “The US is working with both parties to achieve an enduring ceasefire. Senior officials from the White House have visited both Lebanon and Israel in recent days to advance this effort,” the official stated.

US has aimed to encourage Beirut to take more initiative in the talks, especially given the belief that Israel is likely to continue military operations that have already decimated much of Hezbollah’s leadership and caused extensive damage in southern Lebanon, the report added.

Lebanon’s armed forces are not engaged in the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israel a year ago in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza.

Any attempt to secure a ceasefire would require Hezbollah’s approval, as the group has ministers in Lebanon’s cabinet and its members and allies hold a significant number of parliamentary seats. Diplomats communicate with Hezbollah through its ally, Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. Hezbollah has expressed support for Berri’s efforts to reach a ceasefire, provided certain unspecified conditions are met.

However, the sources acknowledged that a unilateral declaration would likely be viewed as a non-starter in Lebanon, where it might be equated with surrender to Israel.

Diplomatic Initiative

Another diplomat informed Reuters that Hochstein had made a similar proposal to Mikati and Berri months ago. He told them that if Hezbollah were to unilaterally declare a ceasefire, he “could have something to present” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a diplomatic initiative. “His exact words were, ‘help me, help you,'” the diplomat said, adding that then-Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah rejected the idea. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 27 September in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Despite its losses, Hezbollah has insisted that its chain of command remains intact, and its fighters have successfully held back Israeli forces conducting ground incursions into Lebanon. Israel claims it is undertaking limited ground operations to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure and diminish the group’s combat capabilities.

The US has been advocating for a 60-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel as a precursor to a more comprehensive implementation of UN Resolution 1701.

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