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THE ISRAELI CABINET are to discuss a ceasefire deal to end fighting in Lebanon this evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. 

Under the proposed deal, Netanyahu vowed to ‘respond’ to any attempts by militant group Hezbollah to rearm. He also said that Israel will maintain ‘full’ freedom in its actions in Lebanon, and that the length of the ceasefire depends on what occurs in the country. 

The prime minister said that a ceasefire in Lebanon would allow Israel to focus on the ‘Iranian threat’.

Earlier today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon are “in the final stages”. Blinken said that “de-escalating tensions in the region, it can also help us to end the conflict in Gaza”.

 ”Hamas will know that it can’t count on other fronts opening up in the war. So we’re tracking this very closely, and I hope and believe that we can get this over the finish line.”

Israel’s security cabinet gathered in Tel Aviv to begin discussing the proposed truce in Lebanon, an official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told news agency AFP this afternoon.

The United States and France have spearheaded the truce efforts, and G7 foreign ministers called today for an “immediate ceasefire”, saying in a statement: “Now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement.”

US news outlet Axios reported that the draft agreement included a 60-day transition period.

During that time, Israeli forces would withdraw, the Lebanese army would deploy along the border and Hezbollah would pull its heavy weapons back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres from the frontier, Axios said.

A US-led committee would oversee implementation, with provisions allowing Israel to act against imminent threats if Lebanese forces failed to intervene.

Defence Minister Israel Katz told the UN’s Lebanon envoy Tuesday that Israel would have “zero tolerance” when defending its security interests, even after a truce.

“If you do not act, we will do it, forcefully,” Katz told Janine Hennis-Plasschaert during a meeting in Tel Aviv, a statement from his office said.

Despite the talks, waves of Israeli strikes pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut today.

Footage today appeared to show the most intense raids on the Lebanese capital in two months of full-scale war with Israel. Lebanese media reported an Israeli strike on a building in the centre of Beirut.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that three strikes hit the central Nweiri neighbourhood and destroyed a “four-storey building housing displaced people”. The health ministry said the first strike killed seven people and wounded 37.

This is a breaking story with more to follow.