Hochsteins silence: Lebanon awaits answers amidst Gaza ceasefire talks

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Political sources indicated that the Lebanese government, or any Lebanese official, has not received any information from the US presidential advisor Amos Hochstein or his assistant team in Beirut about the results of the contacts he conducted with Israeli officials during the past two days.

This article was originally published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper al-Liwaa.

These contacts were regarding the mission he is undertaking to reduce tension and clashes in the south and agree on sustainable calming measures based on the implementation of UN resolution 1701 by Hezbollah and Israel.

Hochstein is unlikely to return to Lebanon soon before obtaining positive Israeli answers, which will enable him to resume his mission, which seems to be linked to reaching an agreement to cease fire in Gaza first.

This is expected to materialize in the coming days despite all the negative atmospheres accompanying efforts to calm and ceasefire in Gaza due to Israeli strictness and US leniency in exerting intense pressure on the Israeli side to stop the ceasefire.

The sources also addressed the recent visit of the US presidential advisor Amos Hochstein to Lebanon, indicating that it occurred after he received encouraging responses from Lebanon and Israel to resume his mission.

This means both countries are interested in continuing diplomatic efforts to end armed conflicts and escalating tensions on the southern Lebanese border and reach an agreement between the two countries.

The sources mentioned the content of Hochstein's meetings with opposition MPs, indicating that they took place at the US ambassador's initiative to inquire about the opposition's positions on the ongoing negotiations to solve the problem of armed conflicts on the southern Lebanese border.

They added that some MPs requested personal appointments to meet Hochstein, but he could not accommodate many of the meetings due to time constraints, while some meetings were held quickly at Beirut-Rafic Al Hariri International Airport and on the go.