BEIRUT – Lebanon and Hezbollah have accepted a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with few comments on the content, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters on Nov. 18, describing the effort as the most serious ever to end the fights.

Mr. Ali Hassan Khalil, aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon submitted its written response to the US Ambassador to Lebanon on November 18 and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was traveling to Beirut to continue negotiations.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Hezbollah, a heavily armed movement backed by Iran, backed its longtime ally Mr. Berri to negotiate a ceasefire.

“Lebanon presented its comments on the document in a positive atmosphere,” Khalil said, declining to give further details. “All comments we have presented affirm specific adherence to (UN) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions.”

He was referring to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Its terms require that Hezbollah have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which flows about 30 km north of the border.

Mr. Khalil said the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying that if Israel did not want a solution, “it could create 100 problems.”

Israel has long claimed that Resolution 1701 was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon has accused Israel of violations, including flights of warplanes into its airspace.

Mr. Khalil said Israel was trying to negotiate “under fire,” a reference to an escalation of its bombing of Beirut and Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. “This will not affect our position,” he said. REUTERS