US is working urgently on a plan to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

(CNN) — The United States is working urgently on a plan to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, according to three sources familiar with the matter, as officials eye with deepening concern the prospects of a widening conflict.

American officials are working with officials from France and other nations to try and reach a diplomatic agreement that would pause fighting along Israel’s northern border while also resuming ceasefire and hostage talks for Gaza, the people said.

The efforts come as Israel’s top general said Wednesday that the Israeli military is preparing for a possible ground incursion into Lebanon.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the green light for his government to engage with the US efforts, an Israeli official told CNN.

The official said that Netanyahu gave his approval with the understanding that any agreement would have to allow for the return of Israeli civilians to their homes in northern Israel.

Amos Hochstein, a senior White House adviser, is involved, the source said, adding that the Americans are not talking to Hezbollah directly.

American officials declined to provide specifics on the proposed plans, but the matter is under intensive discussion among diplomats in New York for this week’s United Nations General Assembly meetings. It is unclear how much progress had been made toward striking an agreement.

On Monday night, a US official told CNN that the administration was extremely close to finalizing a plan to deescalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and Hamas, but that officials were trying to keep the negotiations as private as possible to avoid upending the fragile talks involving multiple countries.

But a focus now, officials say, is to de-couple the ceasefire efforts for Lebanon and for Gaza. Hezbollah has long said they would only stop their rocket fire when there was quiet in Gaza while Israel has tried to treat them as separate conflicts. The White House has also consistently argued that a ceasefire in Gaza would unlock much more, including a diplomatic deal with Hezbollah that would allow Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return home.

Given the fear of escalation, American and other international officials are pushing for a deal first to end the skyrocketing Lebanon fighting so that they can then turn back to the Gaza ceasefire efforts that have been stuck.

Biden and his top national security officials have regularly expressed optimism and hope that deals for both were close at hand, only to see them fall apart. Recently, US officials have said they don’t know whether Netanyahu or Sinwar have the political willingness to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

A European diplomat expressed skepticism about the prospects of the efforts succeeding, saying they see “no reason to be optimistic right now.” The diplomat added that ongoing talks are pushing ahead but the “situation is deteriorating and escalating by the hour.”

The plans could be a focus of conversation at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council scheduled for later Wednesday that France called for.

At a separate UN Security Council meeting earlier Wednesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah and the implementation of a political plan, which allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes and live in peace and security.”

A British official stressed it is time to move beyond calls for “de-escalation” and instead call for an immediate stop to the fighting. That official also suggested the diplomatic efforts on a ceasefire in Gaza should be delinked from the efforts on Lebanon in order to achieve an immediate ceasefire across the blue line.

Speaking on ABC’s daytime talk show “The View,” President Joe Biden alluded to ongoing talks to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon that would unlock further peace discussions elsewhere in the region.

“There’s a way to do it, and they have a possibility – I don’t want to exaggerate it, but a possibility — if we can deal with a ceasefire in Lebanon, that it can move into dealing with the West Bank, but we also have Gaza to deal with,” he said.

“But it’s possible,” he said, “and I’m using every bit of energy I have with my team … to get this done. There’s a desire to see change in the region.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in interviews Wednesday the US is working toward a plan that would allow displaced Israeli and Lebanese citizens to return to their homes.

“It would be through a diplomatic agreement that has forces pulled back from the border, create a secure environment, people return home. That’s what we’re driving toward. Because while there’s a very legitimate issue here, we don’t think that war is the solution,” he told NBC News.

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