US Aims for Israel-Hezbollah Truce Before Biden’s Term Ends

(Bloomberg) - One of Joe Biden's top Middle East envoys traveled to Beirut on Tuesday, as the US steps up efforts to clinch a cease-fire between Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Paris to Replace Parking Spaces With Trees

New York's Transit Agency Approves $9 Congestion Toll

In Cleveland, a Forgotten Streetcar Bridge Gets a Long-Awaited Lift

A Bug's Eye View of Mexico City's Modernist Architecture

Amtrak Wins $300 Million to Fix Its Unreliable NJ-to-NYC Service

Amos Hochstein, who handles Israel-Hezbollah affairs for the White House, visited the country on Tuesday to discuss a US-drafted proposal to end the war between the two sides. He met Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, who acts as an interlocutor between the West and Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group by the US and many other countries.

After speaking to Berri for around two hours, Hochstein said they "continued to significantly narrow the gaps." He hopes there'll be a decision on a deal in the coming days.

"I'm here in Beirut to facilitate that decision," Hochstein said. "But it's ultimately the decision of the parties to reach a conclusion to this conflict. It is now within our grasp."

Berri, speaking separately, said there are still "some technical details" to finalize and the next step was for Hochstein to travel to Israel.

"We are waiting for what he will bring from there," Berri said to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Biden's administration is trying to end the conflict before handing over to President-elect Donald Trump in just over two months. US officials and those within Israel see a near-term truce in Lebanon as more likely than one in Gaza, with talks between Israel and Hamas having ground to a halt.

Fighting in Lebanon is likely to continue even as the cease-fire talks progress. This week, Israel's increased air strikes on Beirut and some other parts of Lebanon. On Monday evening, Hezbollah targeted Tel Aviv with a missile. It was intercepted by the Israeli military but falling debris caused some damage and injuries in Israel's commercial capital.

The conflict started almost 14 months ago when Hezbollah, an Iran-backed organization, fired missiles and drones into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Tensions escalated in September when Israel started assassinating senior Hezbollah figures, including long-standing leader Hassan Nasrallah, and then sent ground troops into southern Lebanon.

Around 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes and the ground offensive in the past two months, while 1.2 million — more than a fifth of the population — have been displaced. Hezbollah continues to fire on Israel daily, and about 50 Israeli troops have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon.

The cease-fire plan is based on a UN Security Council Resolution, known as 1701, that ended the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. While both Hezbollah and Israel breached the terms of the resolution, it helped keep peace between them.

Israel is insisting that, as per 1701, Hezbollah moves all its fighters back around 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Lebanon-Israel border.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that's key to enabling around 60,000 displaced people to return to their homes in the north of Israel. A similar number of civilians have had to flee southern Lebanon.

Israel also wants the right to keep striking Hezbollah positions if it deems the group to be breaching the terms of a cease-fire agreement. Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have said they won't accept that. It's unclear what the US is proposing to square those positions.

Hezbollah is one of the most powerful militias in the Middle East and also a political party with substantial support among Shiite Muslims in Lebanon. The Lebanese government has little influence over the group.

-With assistance from Dan Williams and Omar Tamo.

(Updates with comments from Hochstein.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

Trump's Impossible Task: Delivering for the Working Class and Billionaires

Jaylen Brown Is Taking On Nike With $200 Sneakers

Wall Street Is Too Pumped About Trump to Worry About His Policies

Why Tech Billionaires Love the Author of Jurassic Park

Democrats Let MAGA Co-Opt the Healthy Food Movement