Lebanon considers cease-fire plan while Israel launches new strikes

Lebanon is considering a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan while Israel launched new strikes in the area south of Beirut.

Senior Lebanon officials are reviewing the proposal and it is based on the U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, The Washington Post reported.

Based on the plan, the militant group Hezbollah would pull back from Lebanon’s southern part. U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese military would be the only ones permitted to be in the area, one that is on the border with Israel.

The proposal was delivered by U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson, to the Lebanese government on Thursday night, CNN reported, citing a Lebanese official familiar with the matter who added the response could come on Monday next week.

Israel has continued strikes in the south of Lebanon. The Israeli military struck the suburbs of Beirut on Saturday. Israel's military issued evacuation orders, telling residents they were located “near” Hezbollah facilities.

Hezbollah started striking Israel with rockets in October last year to show solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel kicked the attacks on Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, into higher gear in September, which eventually led to Israel's military starting a ground incursion last month. In response, Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel have displaced thousands of Israelis living in the north of the country.

In Lebanon, over 3,400 people have been killed and over 14,500 have been injured, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The tally does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told top President Biden administration officials in late October that a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah must allow Israel to retaliate against Hezbollah if its security is threatened and to safely return Israeli citizens to the north of the country.