U.S. Secretary of State Rubio called Lebanon president Aoun and Israeli prime
minister Netanyahu in the past 48 hours to advance a ceasefire proposal that
would have Hezbollah immediately stop all attacks on Israel in exchange for
Israeli restraint in Beirut to enable phased de-escalation. Aoun has tried to
broker the deal, but Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri responded evasively
and demanded Israel cease fire first despite this round of hostilities being
initiated by Hezbollah. A U.S. official said Hezbollah takes direction from
Iran, which seeks to prolong the Lebanon fighting to claim credit, and added
Washington does not expect Israel to absorb continued attacks on its civilians;
the official said the fastest way to de-escalate and protect civilians is for
Hezbollah to stop firing.
