Washington proposes ‘roadmap’ for de-escalation in Lebanon: US official

The proposal aims to create a conducive environment for a gradual de-escalation and a cessation of all hostilities, the official says.

Washington has put forward a proposal to de-escalate hostilities in Lebanon, a United States official has told Al Jazeera, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held separate talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The statement was made after Israel’s military took over the medieval Beaufort Castle just north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon as it conducts its deepest push into the country in decades.

The US official told Al Jazeera on Sunday that under the proposed “roadmap”, Hezbollah would halt all attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from further escalation in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

The US proposal aims to create a conducive environment for a gradual de-escalation and a complete, comprehensive cessation of all hostilities, the official added.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised to push deeper into Lebanon and called Sunday’s operation a “dramatic shift” in the campaign against Hezbollah, ordered the military on Monday to attack targets in ⁠⁠Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, ⁠a ⁠stronghold ⁠of the Lebanese group.

The US official placed responsibility for the current round of fighting squarely on Hezbollah and accused it of following Iran’s directives without regard for Lebanese interests.

Iran, the official added, was prolonging the conflict in Lebanon to position itself as a mediator.

“The quickest way to protect civilians and reduce escalation is for Hezbollah to cease fire immediately,” the official said, adding that Washington does not expect Israel to tolerate continued attacks on its civilians.

In a video statement released after the military took Beaufort Castle, Netanyahu said: “We have returned united, determined and stronger than ever.”

“Now my directive is to deepen and expand our hold in places that were under Hezbollah’s control. The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading.”

Israeli forces used Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, as a base during their two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

More than one million people have been forcibly displaced across Lebanon since the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated on March 2.

A “ceasefire” to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17 but has never been observed.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the ce