Even during the truce, Israel and the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah have continued armed clashes, and the United States has stepped in with mediation by presenting a new truce proposal to them, Reuters reported on the 31st local time.
Reuters, citing a U.S. government official, reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in succession and proposed a phased cease-fire plan.
Under the proposal, Hezbollah would first halt all attacks toward Israel, and in a corresponding step Israel would refrain from military action in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. The United States plans to use this to restore the existing cease-fire framework, which has become largely nominal.
Barak Ravid, a reporter for the U.S. outlet Axios, also said on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the United States is pushing a new truce plan and that an additional meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials is scheduled to be held in Washington this week to discuss it.
However, opinions in Lebanon are said to be divided over the U.S. proposal. President Aoun is leaning toward accepting the truce plan, but Nabih Berri, the Lebanese parliamentary speaker and a leading figure in Shia politics, was reported to oppose it, saying, "Israel must stop attacks first."
Israel, by contrast, appears to be moving to raise the level of its offensive against Hezbollah. The Israeli daily Jerusalem Post reported that senior Israeli officials asked the United States to allow an expansion of airstrikes in Beirut.
Israel has recently held back some airstrikes under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is pursuing end-of-war talks with Iran. But after resuming airstrikes on Beirut on the 28th for the first time in about three weeks, concerns are growing that the truce framework is wobbling again.