New York [US], September 26: The United States is spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon, linking the two conflicts as part of a single initiative, seven sources familiar with the initiative told Reuters.
Details are being discussed on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to two Lebanese officials, two Western diplomats, a source familiar with the thinking of the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, a source in Washington and a further person briefed on the talks.
But as the effort gathered pace, Israel suggested it could add a ground incursion to its expanding campaign of strikes against Hezbollah. Three Israeli officials told Reuters that, although the U.S. and France were working on ceasefire proposals, no significant progress had yet been made.
The deal would include the eventual release of hostages seized by the Palestinian armed group Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to a senior Lebanese official, the source familiar with Hezbollah's thinking and the source briefed on talks.
The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment.
Violence has gripped the region since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on communities in southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in Gaza.
The attack prompted an Israeli assault on Gaza that has killed more than 41,000 people, according to authorities there.
The day after Hamas attacked, Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli military positions across Lebanon's southern border, saying the attacks were in solidarity with Gaza.
Hezbollah has said it will not stop firing at Israel until the attack on Gaza stops, and repeated efforts by Washington to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and secure the hostages' freedom have failed.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
