Rubio contacts Israeli prime minister, Lebanese president in succession; proposal calls for Hezbollah to halt attacks, Israel to ease tensions

Smoke rises over an area in southern Lebanon following an Israeli airstrike on May 31, local time. [Reuters]
Smoke rises over an area in southern Lebanon following an Israeli airstrike on May 31, local time. [Reuters]

The United States has presented a new truce proposal to Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which have continued fighting despite an existing ceasefire, Reuters reported May 31, local time.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in succession to convey a new phased ceasefire framework, according to US administration officials.

The proposal calls for Hezbollah to first halt all attacks against Israel, in exchange for Israel refraining from further military escalation in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Barak Ravid of US online outlet Axios also reported on his X account that Washington was pushing the new truce plan.

Citing a senior US government official, he said additional talks between Israel and Lebanon on the matter are scheduled to take place in Washington this week.

Reactions within Lebanon were mixed, however. President Aoun was willing to accept the US proposal, but Nabih Berri — speaker of the Lebanese parliament and a leading figure in Shiite political circles — insisted that Israel must stop its attacks first.

Senior Israeli officials also asked the United States to allow an expansion of airstrikes within Beirut, the Jerusalem Post reported May 31.

Israel had held back some strikes under pressure from President Donald Trump, who is engaged in end-of-war negotiations with Iran, before resuming its Beirut bombardment on May 28 for the first time in three weeks.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com