BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s interim prime minister on Friday asked Iran to help broker a ceasefire in the region War between Israel and Hezbollah and appeared to urge the militant group to agree to a deal that would require it to withdraw from the Israel-Lebanon border.

An American proposal for a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending 13 months of fighting between Israel and the group has been conveyed to Hezbollah, Lebanese officials said, as one of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s top advisers visited Lebanon for talks.

Iran is one of Hezbollah’s main backers and has been financing and arming the Lebanese militant group for decades. Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel a day after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the war in Gaza, and contacts between the two sides have accelerated since then.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically increased its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and end its barrage in Israel. More than 3 thousand 400 people lost their lives The Lebanese Ministry of Health says that 80 percent of the fires caused by Israeli fire in Lebanon occurred in the last month.

According to Lebanese media, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson delivered the proposed draft ceasefire agreement to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is leading the talks on behalf of Hezbollah.

A Lebanese official confirmed that Beirut had received a copy of the draft proposal based on UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006. A Lebanese politician said Hezbollah officials had received the draft and were working on it. They would inform Berri of their views on this matter. The politician and official, who is familiar with Hezbollah’s work, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing talks.

UN resolution 1701 means, among other things, that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should operate in southern Lebanon, meaning Hezbollah must end its presence there. That provision was never implemented. Lebanon accuses Israel of violating the decision by retaining a small, disputed border area and operating frequent military flights over Lebanon.

The Lebanese official did not elaborate, except to say that Israel insisted that some guarantees be included. The US Embassy declined to confirm or deny the reports.

Lebanon’s interim prime minister, Najib Mikati, called on Iran to help implement it in a meeting with Khamenei’s advisor Ali Larijani. resolution 1701. He said the Lebanese government wanted the war to end and the decision to be implemented “in full detail,” according to a statement released by his office about the talks.

Mikati, who has further criticized Iran’s role in Lebanon in recent weeks, also said that the government wants Iran to help Lebanon’s national unity and not take any stance that supports one party over another.

Iran’s support for Hezbollah has helped the group, the most powerful group among Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims, dominate the country’s politics over the past decade.

After meeting Mikati and Berri, Larijani said that the main purpose of his visit was to “say out loud that we will stand by the Lebanese government and people.”

Asked if the United States was trying to obstruct the ceasefire mediation, Larijani said: “We are not trying to thwart any efforts, but we want to solve the problem and we will stand by Lebanon no matter what the circumstances are.”

State media said an Israeli airstrike on Friday killed a mother, father and three children on a house in the southern province of Nabatieh, while three other Israeli strikes killed six people and injured 32 in different parts of Tire province.

Israeli forces also launched new attacks around the Lebanese capital on Friday. Three waves of airstrikes hit buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing explosions in the area known as Dahiyeh.

In an earlier attack on the southeastern tip of Beirut, Images taken by Associated Press photographer It caught a rocket about to hit an 11-storey residential building in the Tayuneh neighborhood, after which an explosion of flames was seen from the side of the building. A large part of the lower floors of the building turned into a pile of rubble.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment late Thursday on why the civil defense center was targeted. Lebanon’s civil defense forces have no links to Hezbollah and provide critical rescue and medical services in Lebanon. One of the most war-torn countries in the world.

Israel-Hamas war It started after Palestinian militants attacked Israel The killing of approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on October 7, 2023, and He kidnapped 250 more people.

Palestinian health officials say Israeli bombardment and ground attacks since then have killed more than 43,000 people in Gaza. Authorities do not distinguish between civilians and combatants but say more than half of those killed were women and children.

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The rises were reported from Bangkok. Abby Sewell in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.