Middle East latest: Israeli ambassador to US says Hezbollah cease-fire deal could come ‘within days’

The Israeli ambassador to Washington says that a cease-fire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.”

Ambassador Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio on Monday that there remained “points to finalize” and that any deal required agreement from the government. But he said “we are close to a deal” and that “it can happen within days.”

Among the issues that remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of not adhering to a U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 war between the sides that made similar provisions, and Israel has concerns that Hezbollah could stage a Hamas-style cross-border attack from southern Lebanon if it maintains a heavy presence there. Lebanon says Israel also violated the 2006 resolution. Lebanon complains about military jets and naval ships entering Lebanese territory even when there is no active conflict.

It is not clear whether Lebanon would agree to the demand.

The optimism surrounding a deal comes after a top U.S. envoy held talks between the sides last week in a bid to clinch a deal.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ raid on southern Israel, setting off more than a year of fighting. That escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and later an Israeli ground incursion into the country’s south.

Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israeli cities and towns, including some 250 on Sunday.

___

Here’s the Latest:

Lebanese politician accuses Israel of increasing bombardment to wring concessions

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker has accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment of Lebanon in order to pressure the government to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah.

Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.”

“We are optimistic, and there is hope, but nothing is guaranteed with a person like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu),” Bousaab told reporters.

Israel has carried out heavy strikes in central Beirut in recent days, while Hezbollah has increased its rocket fire into Israel.

The United States is trying to broker an agreement in which Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops would patrol the region, along with a U.N. peacekeeping force.

Israel has demanded freedom of action to strike Hezbollah if it violates the ceasefire, but Bousaab said that was not part of the emerging agreement.

He also said Israel had accepted that France be part of the committee overseeing the ceasefire after Lebanese officials insisted. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side.

Israel has objected to France being on the committee in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s decision last week to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military commander.

France said it supports the court. It said the question of whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on French soil was a “complex legal issue” that would have to be worked out.

Palestinian officials say Israeli forces killed 2 people, including a 13-year-old, in the occupied West Bank

JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces killed two people, including a 13-year-old, in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said the two had thrown explosives at forces overnight near the Palestinian town of Yabad and that the forces had responded by opening fire.

The Health Ministry identified the two as Mohammed Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Zayd, 20. It did not disclose details about the circumstances behind their deaths.

It was the latest bloodshed in the West Bank, which has faced a surge of violence throughout the 13-month war in Gaza. The Health Ministry says nearly 800 people have been killed, with more than 160 of them 18 and younger.

Many have been killed in fighting with the Israeli military, but Palestinians throwing rocks and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed. There has also been an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began.

Israeli government orders public entities to stop advertising in Haaretz newspaper

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has ordered all public entities to stop advertising in the Haaretz newspaper, which is known for its critical coverage of Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Sunday that the government had approved his proposal after Haaretz’ publisher called for sanctions against Israel and referred to Palestinian militants as “freedom fighters.”

“We advocate for a free press and freedom of expression, but also the freedom of the government to decide not to fund incitement against the State of Israel,” Karhi wrote on the social platform X.

Noa Landau, the deputy editor of Haaretz, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “working to silence independent and critical media,” comparing him to autocratic leaders in other countries.

Haaretz regularly publishes investigative journalism and opinion columns critical of Israel’s ongoing half-century occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state.

It has also been critical of Israel’s war conduct in Gaza at a time when most local media support the war and largely ignore the suffering of Palestinian civilians.

In a speech in London last month, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said Israel has imposed “a cruel apartheid regime” on the Palestinians and was battling “Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls ‘terrorists.’”

He later issued a statement, saying he had reconsidered his remarks.

“For the record, Hamas are not freedom fighters,” he posted on X. “I should have said: using terrorism is illegitimate. I was wrong not to say that.”

Iran’s supreme leader says Netanyahu should be ‘sentenced to death’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader has suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be “sentenced to death” for his role in the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and in Lebanon.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks Monday during an event in which he spoke to members of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Khamenei referenced the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Israel’s former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“What the Zionist regime did in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime. Now they have issued a warrant for their arrest. This is not enough!” Khamenei said, according to remarks published by the state-run IRNA news agency. “Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime must be sentenced to death.”

The International Criminal Court at the Hague does not issue death sentences.

Khamenei also insisted those in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance,” like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, would be stronger after the war.

“The idiots should not think that bombing houses and hospitals in Gaza and Lebanon is a victory,” he said. “The enemy has not become winner in Gaza and Lebanon, and it will not be winner.”