US envoy arrives in Lebanon as Israeli airstike hits central Beirut

A US envoy has arrived in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in an attempt to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to United States President Joe Biden, arrived on Tuesday, a day after Hezbollah reportedly responded positively to a US draft proposal to end the war in the region, which has been raging without an end in sight for more than 13 months.

Hochstein’s arrival came hours after an Israeli strike in central Beirut killed five people and wounded others. It was the third Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut in two days.

The US has been working on a proposal to end hostilities that would remove Israeli ground forces from Lebanon and push Hezbollah forces away from the Israeli border.

More Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would be sent to the buffer zone in southern Lebanon as part of the deal.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to severely weaken Hezbollah and end its rocket barrages into Israel.

Hezbollah began firing rockets on 8 October 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Both groups are supported by Iran.

The strikes have drawn retaliation from Israel, and the fighting has escalated dramatically in recent weeks.

Israeli strikes have left more than 3,500 dead in Lebanon and almost 15,000 wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, while the fighting has displaced nearly 1.2 million people — a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, 87 soldiers and 50 civilians, including some foreign labourers who work in agriculture, have been killed by attacks involving rockets, drones and missiles.