US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce a ceasefire in Lebanon between armed group Hezbollah and Israel within 36 hours, four senior Lebanese sources said Monday.

In Washington, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said, "We're close" but "nothing is done until everything is done".

The French presidency said discussions on a ceasefire had made significant progress. In Jerusalem, a senior Israeli official said Israel's cabinet would meet Tuesday to approve a truce deal with Hezbollah.
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Israeli strikes killed 3,768 in Lebanon

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 3,768 and wounded 15,699 since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said Monday.
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Signs of a diplomatic breakthrough were accompanied by heavy Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, as Israel pressed on with the offensive it launched in September after almost a year of cross-border hostilities.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to comment on reports that both Israel and Lebanon had agreed to the text of a deal. But the senior Israeli official said that Tuesday's cabinet meeting was intended to approve the text.

Israeli officials had said earlier that a deal to end the war was getting closer though some issues remained, while two senior Lebanese officials voiced guarded optimism even as Israel continued to bombard Lebanon and Hezbollah kept up rocket fire.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement. Lebanon has previously objected to wording that would grant Israel such a right.

The US has pushed for a deal between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel to end the fighting that erupted in October 2023 in parallel with Israel's war against Palestinian reistance group Hamas in Gaza. The conflict in Lebanon has drastically escalated over the last two months.

In Beirut, Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon's deputy parliament speaker, told Reuters there were "no serious obstacles" left to start implementing a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel, "unless Netanyahu changes his mind".

He said the proposal would entail an Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon and regular Lebanese army troops deploying in the border region, long a Hezbollah stronghold, within 60 days.

A sticking point over who would monitor compliance with the ceasefire had been resolved in the last 24 hours with an agreement to set up a five-country committee, including France and chaired by the United States, he said.

Hostilities have intensified despite diplomatic progress. Over the weekend, Israel carried out powerful airstrikes, one of which killed at least 29 people in central Beirut, while Hezbollah unleashed one of its biggest rocket salvoes yet on Sunday, firing 250 missiles into Israel.

In Beirut, Israeli airstrikes levelled more of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs Monday, sending clouds of debris billowing over the Lebanese capital.

Efforts to clinch a truce appeared to advance last week when US mediator Amos Hochstein declared significant progress at talks in Beirut, then held meetings in Israel.

Israel has dealt major blows to Hezbollah, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and inflicting massive destruction in areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway.
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