Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has said he hopes a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israelwill be announced “in the coming hours or days”.
Najib Mikati expressed his hopes for peace after speaking to American envoy Amos Hochstein, but spoke just hours after renewed Israeli air strikes on Lebanon killed at least 19 people.
Despite the ongoing violence, Mr Mikati said a draft deal had now been written by the US and dated 26 October, and would see Israel pull out within a week of the truce starting.
It would reportedly last an initial 60 days and includes Israel’s “right to act in self-defence” against imminent threats.
Mr Mikati told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV station, the American envoy “suggested to me that we could reach an agreement before the end of the month and before 5 November” – the US election date.
“We are doing everything we can and we should remain optimistic that in the coming hours or days, we will have a ceasefire,” Mr Mikati said.
However, despite renewed hope, the White House urged caution.
National security spokesman Sean Savett said there were “many reports and drafts circulating” which “do not reflect the current state of negotiations”.
And neither Israel nor Lebanese proscribed terror group Hezbollah immediately commented on the reports.
And Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Kassem, said earlier that it would keep fighting until it’ was offered acceptable ceasefire terms.
In his first public comments since replacing Hassan Nasrallah, he said: “If the Israelis decide to stop the aggression, we say that we accept, but according to the conditions that we see as suitable.”
“We will not beg for a ceasefire as we will continue [fighting]… no matter how long it takes.”
And any hopes for peace also came after fresh Israeli strikes killed 19 people, including eight women, in and around Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek, the country’s health ministry said.
The deadly attacks came after tens of thousands of residents fled the historic city in response to evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military.
Mayor Mustafa al-Shell said more than 20 strikes were reported in the Baalbek area, with five inside the city itself, where there is a Unesco-listed ancient Roman temple complex.
The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah command-and-control centres and infrastructure in Baalbek and Nabatiyeh, in southern Lebanon.
The military also said it had targeted Hezbollah fuel depots in the Bekaa Valley, where Baalbek is located. It gave no details, but Lebanon’s state news agency said diesel tanks were hit in the town of Douris, where Mr Shell said pictures showed a huge column of black smoke rising into the air.
Israel began a ground offensive in southern Lebanon at the start of October and has also been carrying out airstrikes, including in the capital Beirut.
It says the offensive is designed to allow its citizens to return to homes near the border after rocket fire from Hezbollah over the past year forced them to move.
The Iran-aligned group is designated a terrorist entity by countries including the UK and US.
