By Maayan Lubell, Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) -Israel stepped up airstrikes in Beirut on Tuesday as its security cabinet discussed a ceasefire deal in Lebanon with its Hezbollah foes that could take effect as soon as Wednesday.
A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic a deal could be reached, clearing the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year.
Despite the possibility of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities raged as Israel sharply ramped up its campaign of air strikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, with health authorities reporting at least 18 killed.
A Hezbollah parliament member in Lebanon, Hassan Fadlallah, said the country faced “dangerous, sensitive hours” during the wait for a possible ceasefire announcement.
With Israel’s security cabinet meeting to discuss the deal, which a senior Israeli official had said was likely to be approved, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would speak on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). A government official said the cabinet meeting had started.
Israeli approval of the deal would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, four senior Lebanese sources told Reuters on Monday.
The ceasefire could come into effect on Wednesday morning, triggering a 60-day truce, a Western diplomat said.
However, there was no indication that a truce in Lebanon would hasten a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in devastated Gaza, where Israel is battling Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.
Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.
Israel demands effective U.N. enforcement of an eventual ceasefire with Lebanon and will show “zero tolerance” toward any infraction, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
BARRAGE
Israeli warplanes launched repeated strikes across Beirut throughout Tuesday, mostly in the southern suburbs that are a stronghold for Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A single cluster of strikes in Beirut that Israel’s military said included attacks on 20 targets in just 120 seconds killed at least seven people and injured 37, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Israel also gave advance notice for the first time of strikes in the central Beirut area, a significant escalation of its campaign in the capital that sparked panic among residents with some fleeing north.
Strikes also targeted Tyre, in the south, and Baalbek, in the east.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.
Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel and previously said it would respond to attacks on central Beirut by firing rockets at Tel Aviv. Sirens sounded in northern Israel and the Israeli military said five projectiles were identified coming from Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched some 250 rockets on Sunday in one of its heaviest barrages yet. The northern Israeli city of Nahariya came under more rocket fire overnight.
ISRAEL WILL KEEP ABILITY TO STRIKE, ENVOY SAYS
Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since September, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, and pounding areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway.
“Regarding the ceasefire, I think it will be implemented. Both sides are tired,” said Selim Ayoub, a 37-year-old mechanic from Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Diplomacy to end the fighting has focused on restoring a ceasefire based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on Monday that Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement. Lebanon has objected to Israel being granted such a right and Lebanese officials have said such language is not included in the draft proposal.
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel has a side agreement with the U.S. allowing it to take action in Lebanon against “imminent threats”.
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said that while there were other missions Israel could carry out in Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah, it preferred a diplomatic solution if possible.
Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed in Lebanon and over one million have been forced from their homes, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
A ceasefire would pave the way for 60,000 people to return to homes in northern Israel, which they evacuated as Hezbollah began firing rockets in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas a day after that group’s Oct. 7, 2023 assault.
Israel says it aims at military targets in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas in Gaza, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.
