On 27 September, Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Barely had the bombs dropped than commentators were already describing Nasrallah’s demise as a transformational moment in Middle Eastern politics. And why not? Benjamin Netanhayhu declared that death of the cleric, a scourge of the Israelis for over 30 years alongside his Iranian sponsor General Abbas Nilforoushan, would change the regional “balance of power” for years to come.
But what if not every dispute in this blood-stained neighbourhood had to be resolved by force? Just a day before the attack on Nasrallah, the Foreign Office, State Department and EU issued a communiqué calling for a three-week ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. Joined by a range of other Asian and European states, it would have paved the way to a long-term settlement between the warring sides, and allow displaced civilians to return home.
More to the point, there’s evidence that Israel, Hezbollah and Iran had all agreed to the deal. But amid the rubble of south Beirut, that was soon forgotten.
By any measure, Nasrallah’s death was a shock. But according to Dan Diker, there might have been more to the assassination than meets the eye. As the president of the influential Jerusalem Centre for Security and Foreign Affairs explains, allowing the world to believe that Israel was willing to sign a truce might have been an act of deception. One that led Nasrallah to meet Nilforoushan at Hezbollah’s headquarters — a very un-secret location he believed was safe.
Yet until late September, all attempts to broker a ceasefire in the north had foundered on Hezbollah’s insistence that Israel imposed a simultaneous ceasefire in Gaza. While Hamas remained in control of the strip, and Israeli hostages remained in its tunnels, this was a precondition that Israel could never accept.
But in the closing “high-level week” of the UN General Assembly, which began on 22 September, the impasse seemed to shift. A range of world leaders — including Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, alongside Lebanon’s Najib Mikati and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian — were all on hand at different times. Netanyahu was in New York too, as was Anthony Blinken and other senior officials from the White House. Feverish talks aimed at securing a ceasefire ensued.
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SubscribeThe author is a Hezbollah apologist who clearly wants Israel to sit back, lie down and wite its own death warrant. Sorry but the author is living in cloud cuckoo land. Negotiations with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are simply not possible. You cannot negotiate with parties whose clearly stated aim (and they make absolutely no bones about) is to wipe you off the face of the earth.
Hezbollah apologist? Whoa, that’s a bit strong. Mr. Rose does not advocate or recommend anything. It’s a great piece of reporting, which explains why things happened as they did.
Why would Israel care what the Houthi do to the uae? As to, Israel missing out on an opportunity to make peace, you don’t make peace with terrorists.
An absurd article – no sources, just speculation. Everything else I’ve read is very clear that Israel has repeatedly asked Hezbollah for a cease fire since Hezbollah attacked on 8th October 2023 in support of Hamas: no mention of this. Furthermore no mention of the pagers, decapitation etc. and its effect on Hezbollah. Why, when they are so compromised, would Israel seek a truce? Finally, its clear that Europe’s (all the “sources” quoted) chief concern is more refugees from the Middle East (at least UnHerd’s writer Tom McTague understands this clearly) – again no mention of this. Any reader hoping to understand what’s happening shouldn’t waste their time on this.
The meaningful cease fire is when Hamas and Hezbollah surrender to Israel in defeat and Iranian imperialists are kicked to the curb.