Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will put a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah to his Israeli cabinet shortly.
An agreement could bring about an end to fighting that has seen more than 3,500 Lebanese killed and more than 15,000 injured in over a year.
Mr Netanyahu said: “It’s not the same Hezbollah any more. We’ve attacked strategic targets throughout Lebanon. We pushed Hezbollah back decades.
“That is why I will bring before the cabinet tonight a plan for a ceasefire.
“If Hezbollah tries to attack us, we will attack.”
He said there are three main reasons for a ceasefire now: the Iranian threat, “refreshing our forces and rearming our troops”.
Any potential agreement would also reportedly allow hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border to gradually return home.
Earlier on Monday, it was suggested that Israel was moving towards a ceasefire but there were still outstanding issues.
It follows more airstrikes over the weekend which came as Hezbollah fired heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday.
Israel’s military said houses were destroyed or set alight near Tel Aviv after an Israeli airstrike killed at least 29 people in Beirut the day before.
Israel also struck Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.
Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Kassem appeared to be open to a ceasefire with Israel during a speech last week.
Fighting began between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel broke out the day after the 7 October Hamas attacks last year, and Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this year.
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Source : Sky News
