Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said he’s “cautiously optimistic” about a cease-fire agreement in the next few days. Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Kassem also expressed openness to a deal.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in an interview on Wednesday that he was “cautiously optimistic” after talks with US envoy Amos Hochstein about an apparent new push for a cease-fire deal with Israel.
“We are doing our best … to have a cease-fire within the coming hours or days,” Mikati said during a televised interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed.
Hezbollah’s newly chosen leader Naim Qassem had also hinted at the possibility of a cease-fire deal in his first speech since taking over on Wednesday.
“If the Israelis decide they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but under the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable,” Qassem had said, albeit also saying Hezbollah would not “beg for a cease-fire.”
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen had said on Israeli public radio that the country’s security cabinet was meeting to discuss what terms it might offer in a bid to secure a truce, but he also said “I think it will still take time.”
