Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah traded deadly blows on Thursday as their war raged on despite signs of progress in US ceasefire efforts, with airstrikes pounding Beirut’s southern suburbs and rockets flying into northern Israel.
US mediator Amos Hochstein was in Israel for talks with Israeli officials to try to secure a ceasefire which he said was “within our grasp” during a visit to Beirut earlier this week.
The diplomacy marks the most serious attempt yet to end the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah, part of the regional spillover of the Gaza war that erupted more than a year ago.