Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri believes the chances of Lebanon and Israel reaching a ceasefire agreement now have surpassed 50 percent after President-elect Donald Trump reportedly urged U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein to push through a deal.
Israel invaded south Lebanon and has carried out airstrikes throughout the Middle Eastern country since October 1 in a bid to decimate the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s capabilities. Hezbollah and Israel had been exchanging regular cross-border fire since late last year, after the October 7, 2023, attack carried out against Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
While the Lebanese government does not control Hezbollah, the militant group’s political wing is part of the nation’s government. Berri, who leads the Amal Movement, which has been politically aligned with Hezbollah, spoke to Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar for an interview published Saturday about the latest on ceasefire negotiations, saying the chances of a deal have now surpassed 50 percent.
“According to Berri, this optimism is due to Amos Hochstein’s confirmation during his last communication that he received the green light from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to push the talks forward and reach a ceasefire,” the Arabic-language newspaper reported.
Lebanese and Israeli media reported last week that Trump told Hochstein to “go and finish your work and make a deal with Lebanon.” Hochstein currently serves as President Joe Biden‘s deputy assistant and senior adviser for energy and investment, and has been heading up negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s press team, the State Department and the Israeli Ministry of Defense for comment via email on Saturday.
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Berri told Ad-Diyar that Trump’s reported decision appears to have helped the possibility of a deal. While he said that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously “obstructed” negotiations, the “current situation seems different and more serious, especially after Hochstein announced direct support from President-elect Trump to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Hochstein told Axios earlier this week that he believes “there is a shot” at a ceasefire deal, adding, “I am hopeful we can get it.”
More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israel’s attacks since late 2023, with some 80 percent of those casualties occurring in the past two months, the Associated Press reported, citing Lebanon’s Health Ministry. More than 100 Israeli security forces and civilians have been killed in the hostilities as well.
Although Hezbollah and Israel have had tensions for decades, the current conflict erupted after Hamas’ attack on Israel last October. That assault by the Palestinian militant group, which is allied with Hezbollah, left about 1,200 Israelis dead. Israel went on to launch a war against Gaza, which has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, who are mostly women and children, according to the AP.