US working on 60-day ceasefire truce with Lebanon as Israel bombards Baalbek: report

U.S.mediators are working on a proposal to halt hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, starting with a 60-day ceasefire, two sources said on Wednesday, but Israel pressed its offensive, bombarding Lebanon’s historic city of Baalbek after issuing a mass evacuation order.The sources — a person briefed on the talks and a senior diplomat working on Lebanon — told Reuters the two-month period would be used to finalize full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to keep southern Lebanon free of arms outside state control.A U.S.

official said White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein will visit Israel on Thursday to engage on a range of issues “including Gaza, Lebanon, hostages, Iran and broader regional matters.”Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem said the Iran-backed group would agree to a ceasefire within certain parameters if Israel wanted to stop the war, but said Israel had so far not agreed to any proposal that could be discussed.It was Qassem’s first speech as secretary-general, a day after Hezbollah announced his election to the post after Israel assassinated the group’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.The latest ceasefire efforts come as Israel’s operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to expand.Its army launched heavy airstrikes on Wednesday on the eastern city of Baalbek, famed for its Roman temples, and nearby villages, security sources told Reuters, following an Israeli evacuation order.Tens of thousands of mostly Shi’ite Muslim Lebanese, including many who had sought shelter in the city from other areas, fled after the warning was issued.Bilal Raad, the regional head of the Lebanese civil defense, said the largely volunteer force had been calling on residents to leave via megaphones after receiving phone calls from someone identifying themselves as being from the Israeli military.“People are all over each other, the whole city is in a panic...