White House: Lebanon ceasefire agreement ‘close’
The United States believes a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah is “close,” the White House said today, but negotiations are still ongoing. “We believe we are close to a deal,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters. But he added, “We are not there yet.” Kirby said it would be “irresponsible” to confirm any reports about the content of the agreement. He added that he did not want to do “anything that might undermine the deal.” He noted that the president has been following the progress of the ceasefire negotiations “very closely” and has been in direct contact with US envoy Amos Hochstein, who visited the country last week. Kirby would not confirm Saudi media reports that Biden and Macron would announce a ceasefire agreement, saying only that the two leaders discussed the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah last week.
