U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has proposed a new ceasefire initiative to the leaders of Israel and Lebanon, Axios journalist Barak Ravid said, citing a U.S. official.
"To advance those talks, the U.S. proposed that as a first step Hezbollah will stop all attacks on Israel. In return, Israel would refrain from escalation in Beirut," the report reads.
According to the source, Rubio held phone conversations over the past 48 hours with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ravid's source said that the Lebanese leader had sought to advance the initiative, but the response from Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri "was evasive and disappointing."
The speaker stated that he could guarantee that Hezbollah would abide by the terms of the ceasefire. However, he called on Israel to suspend hostilities first.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the IDF had taken control of Beaufort, a 12th-century Crusader castle situated on a strategic hilltop 300 meters above sea level. Located north of the Litani River and about 100 km south of Beirut, the site overlooks large parts of southern Lebanon and northern Galilee. Israel previously controlled the strategically important position from 1982 to 2000.
