Israel, Hezbollah trade deadly blows despite ceasefire talks

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah traded deadly blows on Thursday as their war raged on despite signs of progress in U.S. ceasefire efforts, with some of the heaviest airstrikes yet on Beirut's southern suburbs and rockets flying into Israel.

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein was in Israel for talks with Israeli officials to try to secure a ceasefire which he declared was "within our grasp" on a visit to Beirut earlier this week.

But indicating gaps remain, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Beirut had sought changes to the U.S. ceasefire proposal, to include ensuring a speedier withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon.

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.

Beirut shook as Israeli airstrikes hit the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs about a dozen times, sending up clouds of debris. Residents have largely fled the area since Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah in September.

The Israeli army said its strikes were against Hezbollah infrastructure and that it had mitigated civilian harm through advance warnings and other steps.

Israeli airstrikes killed 22 people in five locations in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and three more in the south, the Health Ministry said. An Israeli strike killed 13 more people in the south on Wednesday.

In Israel, a 30-year-old man was killed when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in the northern town of Nahariya, Israel's MDA medical service said.

"The Israeli government is not safeguarding my security, my residents or the residents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to live in such a situation like this," Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelly told public broadcaster Kan.

The Israeli military said about 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards Nahariya. "Most of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified," the military said in a statement.

Channel 12 said three rockets hit the coastal town.

Hezbollah's al-Manar television station, citing its correspondent, confirmed rocket fire towards Nahariya and the surrounding area.

White House envoy Hochstein left for Israel after declaring progress in two days of talks in Lebanon with officials including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, endorsed to negotiate by Hezbollah. Speaking before he left Beirut, Hochstein said he was going to Israel to try to close an agreement if possible.

He met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Israeli media reported. Further details were not immediately available.

BATTLE OF KHIYAM

The diplomacy aims to end a conflict that has inflicted massive devastation in Lebanon since Israel began its offensive, mounting airstrikes across wide parts of the country and sending troops into the south.

Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera showed thick smoke rising from the town of Khiyam in southern Lebanon, some 6 km (4 miles) from the border, a focal point of ground battles between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops.

Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from its north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Hezbollah, which has suffered major blows since Israel began its offensive in September, has kept up rocket fire into Israel, attacking Tel Aviv this week. Its fighters are battling Israeli troops on the ground in the south.

The casualty toll since Oct., 2023 stands at 3,558 people killed in Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry says, most of them killed during the Israeli offensive since September. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry said 14 fatalities were reported on Tuesday.

Hezbollah strikes have killed more than 100 people in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They include more than 70 soldiers killed in strikes in northern Israel and the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israel.



(Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in Jerusalem; Tom Perry in Beirut; Clauda Tanios and Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by William Maclean)