Israel, Hezbollah said nearing deal to end northern border tensions, but it’ll still require hostage deal first
Channel 12 reports that Israel and Hezbollah are close to reaching an agreement that would see the terror group retreat away from Israel’s northern border and allow Israeli civilians to return to their homes in northern communities that have been evacuated since October.
The deal on the table has been brokered by the US and is similar to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and stipulated that the terror group must retreat from the border with Israel to the north of the Litani River. Hezbollah has increasingly violated those terms over the years.
The deal brokered by US envoy Amos Hochstein will first require a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that restores calm in Gaza, Channel 12 says.
The network cites Israeli officials who say that the US deal is the only game in town and that efforts by France to broker its own deal are harmful and motivated by Paris’s effort to demonstrate diplomatic relevance.