Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will "continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon" and threatened to strike the Lebanese capital Beirut if Hezbollah does not stop firing at Israel.
Netanyahu said in a post on X that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on Monday evening and told him that "if Hezbollah does not stop firing at our cities and citizens - Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut. This position of ours remain unchanged."
Also on Monday, Lebanese authorities confirmed that Hezbollah had agreed to a U.S. proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks" with Israel.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington said in a post on X that the confirmation followed a phone call between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which the situation in Lebanon and efforts to de-escalate tensions were discussed.
According to the embassy, the U.S. proposal calls for a reciprocal halt to attacks by both sides.
Under the proposed arrangement, Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from its attacks against Israel. The ceasefire framework would later be expanded to cover all of Lebanese territory.
The embassy said that Trump later informed Lebanon's ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, that he had secured Netanyahu's approval of the proposal.
Mouawad relayed the outcome to Aoun, who in turn informed Hezbollah of the development, the statement said.
Negotiation meetings scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to continue building on the progress achieved, the embassy added.
Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered strikes on the Beirut suburb of Dahieh, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, amid increased rocket and drone launches by Hezbollah toward Israeli military positions.
Israeli leader says IDF to continue activities in southern Lebanon ''as planned''
