Report: US-tasked Dutch envoy met with Hezbollah for past two weeks
The U.S. administration has tasked a Dutch envoy with visiting Lebanon and meeting with Hezbollah’s leadership, a media report said on Friday.
“This is what happened over the past two weeks,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported.
“The discussions revolved around the rules of engagement and delved into the next-day arrangements in Lebanon after the Gaza war,” the daily added.
More than three months of cross-border violence have killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
The violence has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border.
Last week, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah hailed "a historic opportunity" to help Lebanon regain control of disputed border land, "after this phase (of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah) ends and after the aggression on Gaza."
The same day, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his government "prefers a diplomatic path over a military one," but warned: "We are close to the point of the hour glass turning over."
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