Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, here's the latest on Israel and Lebanon:

• The Israeli security cabinet is set to discuss a 60-day ceasefire that would temporarily end hostilities with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that's based in Lebanon
• Reports in Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the terms of the deal "in principle"
• The EU's foreign policy chief is urging leaders to put pressure on Israel to support the proposal
• Israeli strikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, shortly after its military issued an evacuation order for the area - the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not yet commented
• Overnight, Israel carried out strikes on the border between Lebanon and Syria, while the IDF says Hezbollah launched rockets on Israel's north - Hezbollah has not yet commented on that attack
• On Monday, 31 people were killed across Lebanon in Israeli air strikes, the country's health ministry says

A tough recovery lies ahead for Lebanonpublished at 11:24 Greenwich Mean Time

11:24 GMT

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

For days, Lebanese officials have expressed cautious optimism that a ceasefire deal is possible, which would bring an end to over a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

In private, both Hezbollah and Iran - the group’s main supporter - have said they were interested in one, a Lebanese source told me. And in a televised speech last week, the new leader of the group, Naim Qassem, appeared to give his green light to the US-drafted proposal.

The war has been devastating for Lebanon, where more than 3,700 people have been killed since the start of the hostilities in October 2023 and one million residents have been displaced in areas where Hezbollah holds sway. The World Bank estimates there has been $8.5bn (£6.8bn) in economic losses and damage.

Recovery will take time, and no-one seems to know who will pay for it.

Hezbollah, too, has been devastated. Many of its leaders have been killed, including its long-time chief, while its infrastructure has been heavily damaged. How it will look like after the war remains unclear.

The group has been severely weakened, some would say humiliated, but it has not been destroyed.

In Lebanon, it is more than a militia: it is a political party with representation in Lebanon's parliament, and a social organisation, with significant support among Shia Muslims.

Its opponents will probably see it as an opportunity to limit its influence – before the conflict, Hezbollah was often described as a state within a state in Lebanon – and many fear this could lead to internal violence.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

I’ve been talking to people in Lebanon about what they envision a potential ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel would look like.

Ralph, 29, lives in the Achrafieh neighbourhood of Beirut, where he says “there is a mix of hope and pessimism on the streets today".

The past few weeks have been hard on him, he says, as he spent many evenings listening to the air strikes across the city.

“My mental health is not at its best right now,” he says. “I own an advertising agency, and many of my clients had to shut down. I have been affected financially."

“I am a Scout leader and one of the Scouts in my group, a 13-year-old boy I knew well, was killed in this war.”

Ralph says that despite the bombing, he decided to stay in his home of Achrafieh over the past few weeks. His neighbourhood was not bombed, but nearby areas have been hit.

“I truly believe the Lebanese Army is capable of protecting us," he says, adding that he believes they're capable of enforcing a potential ceasefire in the country's south.

But something needs to change, he says.

"The Lebanese people need to stop relying on Hezbollah as a military force," the 29-year-old says. “We want to dream and we want to grow.”

“But as for the ceasefire, we will believe it when we see it.”

Moving away from the southern suburbs of Beirut, let's return to the news that Israel's security cabinet is set to discuss a 60-day ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon later today.

It's been reported in Israeli media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed "in principle" to a possible ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

But some in Israel, including local leaders in the north, are reportedly expressing anger towards the negotiations, saying that the safety of residents in these areas is not guaranteed.

Metula's mayor in the country's north is asking residents in the region not to return and is urging Netanyahu not to make this "shameful agreement", Israel's Channel 13 reports.

"The threat has not been removed. We will not agree to return to the reality of October 7 in the north,” he says.

That sentiment was echoed by Israel's former defence minister, Benny Gantz, who asks in a post on X for Netanyahu to "convene the heads of the authorities in the north" rather than convening the heads of his coalition.

As a reminder, about 60,000 people have been evacuated from northern Israel as exchanges of fire have become an almost daily occurrence since 8 October last year, the day after Hamas launched its attack on Israel from Gaza.

Israel made the safe return of these residents to the north of the country an official war goal back in September.

Image source, Reuters

We can now bring you an update on the evacuation order that the Israeli military issued earlier this morning.

Israeli strikes have now been reported in Beirut's south, an area that has a strong Hezbollah presence.

The IDF has not yet commented on the strikes.

The Israeli military has just issued an evacuation order for several buildings, including two schools, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the armed group Hezbollah has a strong presence.

The IDF's Arabic spokesperson is asking civilians near the buildings it outlines, as well as the ones adjacent to them, to evacuate ahead of strikes it says will target "Hezbollah facilities and interests".

In a post on X, external, Avichay Adraee shared a map alongside the announcement, which calls on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 metres from the sites.

Before hearing from the EU's top diplomat, both the US and France signalled their support of a ceasefire deal that would temporarily end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

The French presidency said on Monday evening negotiations had "significantly advanced" and urged Israel and Hezbollah to "quickly seize this opportunity".

That sentiment was echoed by the US, with its national security council spokesman, John Kirby, saying: "We believe we've reached this point where we're close". He cautioned that "we're not there yet".

The potential deal, however, does not have the backing of everyone in Israel.

The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, spoke out against a ceasefire with Hezbollah, saying Israel should press on with the war until "absolute victory".

He addressed the Israeli prime minister on X saying: "It is not too late to stop this agreement!"

Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities have said any ceasefire deal should be limited to the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, external, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Image source, Reuters

The EU's foreign policy chief says there is no reason for not implementing a proposed ceasefire deal in Lebanon, hours before the Israeli security cabinet is set to discuss the potential end to hostilities with Hezbollah.

"There is a proposal on the table, brokered by the US and by France, which gives Israel all the security commitments they were asking for," Josep Borrell has said at a G7 foreign ministers meeting near Rome.

"No more excuses. No more additional requests. Stop this fighting. Stop killing people."

The top EU diplomat has also urged international leaders to put pressure on Israel to back the deal on Tuesday.

Image source, Reuters

Lebanese authorities insist that any ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah should be limited to the terms of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 - which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

That resolution includes the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s fighters and weapons in areas between the Blue Line - the unofficial frontier between Lebanon and Israel - and the Litani River, about 30km (18 miles) from the boundary with Israel.

Other key provisions of the resolution include:

• No foreign forces in Lebanon without the government’s consent
• No sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorised by its government
• Provision to the UN of all remaining maps of landmines in Lebanon in Israel’s possession
• Full respect by both parties for the Blue Line and security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including an area free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese authorities and UNIFIL

How would any deal be implemented?published at 08:25 Greenwich Mean Time

08:25 GMT

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

Image source, Reuters

The details of the agreement remain unclear, and it is not a done deal yet, but one of the key points seems to be how to enforce its implementation.

The proposal is based on the terms of the United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

It requires, among other things, Hezbollah to remove its fighters and weapons from the area south of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) from the Blue Line, which is the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel. The resolution was never fully implemented, with both sides alleging violations.

During the US-led talks, it has been made clear to the Lebanese authorities that the post-2006 situation, in which Hezbollah was allowed to build extensive infrastructure along the border, will not be repeated.

There will be more international involvement to monitor the implementation of the deal, with the US leading a five-country committee, and the UN peacekeeping force in the south will be reinforced.

During the 60-day ceasefire, the Lebanese Army is expected to boost its presence in the south. But questions remain about how they will be deployed. The military here has complained that they do not have the resources – money, manpower and equipment – to fulfil their obligations.

But it is not only about funding, which will probably come from some of Lebanon’s international allies. Will the Lebanese military confront Hezbollah if needed?

That would put Lebanese against Lebanese, which is always a risk in a country where sectarian divisions run deep. It seems there has been the acceptance by the Lebanese authorities that things must change, a diplomat told me, and there is the political will to do so.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says Hezbollah launched 10 rockets from Lebanon at Israel's Western Galilee region overnight.

Some of the rockets were intercepted, while others were detected crashing in the area, the IDF says in a statement on X.

Two people were injured by shrapnel in the attack in Nahariya, Magen David - Israel’s ambulance service - says. These include a 70-year-old woman, who is in serious condition, and an 80-year-old man, who is in mild condition.

Hezbollah has yet to comment on the attack.

Meanwhile, as potential ceasefire negotiations are on the horizon in Israel, cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah continued overnight.

The Israeli military says its warplanes on Monday evening carried out strikes on the Syria-Lebanon border, targeting “transit routes” it says Iran uses to “transfer weapons” to Hezbollah.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the operation was focused on “thwarting the capabilities of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400”, which it says was responsible for transferring weapons.

The IDF provided no further details about what targets were hit and whether there were any casualties.

Hezbollah has yet to comment on the strikes.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese health ministry says 31 people were killed across the country in Israeli air strikes on Monday.

It says several cities in Lebanon’s south and south-east were targeted, as well as one in the north-eastern region.

As we've been reporting, the Israeli cabinet will vote today on a proposal that would see an initial 60-day truce between its military and Hezbollah.

Under the proposal, Israeli soldiers would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would withdraw fighters and weapons south of the Litani River - which lies about 30km (18 miles) from Lebanon's border with Israel.

Hezbollah fighters in that area would be replaced by troops from the Lebanese Army.

Among the details of the agreement are a mutual ceasefire and no Israeli-occupied buffer zone in southern Lebanon, Israel's Channel 12 reports.

Channel 12 also says Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would maintain a presence in Lebanon for up to 60 days, and the Lebanese government will oversee the purchase and production of weapons in the country as its army replaces the IDF as it withdraws.

The US would head a five-country committee that would monitor the ceasefire and, the reports say, it would issue a letter recognising Israel's right to attack Lebanon if Hezbollah is perceived to be in violation of the agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to the deal "in principle", external, the Times of Israel reports. The Lebanese deputy speaker of parliament, Elias Bou Saab, told Reuters that there were "no serious obstacles" to the deal "unless Netanyahu changes his mind".

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

With positive signs from Lebanon and Washington saying a deal is “close”, Israeli media area reporting that the Israeli security cabinet is set to approve a 60-day ceasefire with Hezbollah - but there’s still been no official comment.

The proposed deal is said to resemble the United Nations Security Council resolution which ended the 2006 war, but with more international support to push the Iran-backed armed group away from the border with Israel and bolster regular Lebanese army troops deploying there when Israeli forces withdraw.

There’s not full support for the plan in Israel.

Many of the tens of thousands of Israeli citizens displaced by over a year of fighting with Hezbollah say it won’t make them feel safe enough to return home, and Israel’s far-right security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has said the war should continue until there’s “absolute victory".

Johanna Chisholm
Live page editor

We’re starting live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East, after the Israeli military carried out overnight strikes on the border between Lebanon and Syria, and Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel’s north.

This all comes hours before the Israeli cabinet is set to discuss approval of a 60-day ceasefire to end hostilities with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

There have been exchanges of fire almost every day since 8 October last year, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel after Hamas launched its attack on Israel from Gaza.

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel intensified when Israel launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon almost two months ago.

We’re going to be following movements throughout the day with the help of our correspondents in Israel and Lebanon.