US truce efforts on Lebanon fail ahead of elections, diplomatic sources tell Reuters

American efforts to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah have failed after the U.S. drafted an "unrealistic" ceasefire proposal and Israel's insistence on being able to enforce a truce directly, people briefed on the diplomacy told Reuters.

With no workable proposal on the table ahead of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, the conflict could drag on for months, according to a Lebanese political source close to Hezbollah, two diplomats and a person briefed on the talks.

They all spoke on condition of anonymity. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not respond to questions from Reuters.

The State Department referred Reuters to comments by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said Israel and Lebanon were moving toward understandings on what was required to end the conflict but more work was needed.

The U.S. had drafted a 60-day truce proposal that would see Hezbollah pull back from Lebanon's southern border, both sides cease attacks and 10,000 Lebanese army troops deploy in the south, according to Israel's public broadcaster Kan.

But two diplomats told Reuters the diplomatic efforts had failed because that draft was not viable.

"It was totally unrealistic because of the onus it places on the Lebanese army to solve these problems," a Western diplomat told Reuters.

A regional diplomat echoed those doubts, specifically pointing to elements of a "side letter" between the U.S. and Israel published by Kan which gave Israel the right to take action against imminent threats to its security. The diplomat described this proposal as "unworkable.”

Lebanon's government has not commented publicly on the draft, but officials told Reuters that Israel's insistence on "direct enforcement" of a deal would breach state sovereignty.

U.S. envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, who were in Israel on Thursday to discuss a ceasefire with Israeli officials, did not continue on to Lebanon for talks.

"After Hochstein's attempt yesterday, that's it. It seems only the battlefield will decide," the Lebanese political figure close to Hezbollah told Reuters.

Reuters