NEW YORK, November 25. /TASS/. A ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hezbollah Shia movement is very close, CNN reported, citing a source.

According to the source, the parties are very close to making an agreement despite "an uptick in Israeli attacks." "We are moving in this direction, but there are still some issues to address," a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN.

The Ynet news website reported earlier that Israel had given a preliminary green light to a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, subject to final approval by the cabinet.

On Sunday, Barak Ravid, a reporter for the Axios news outlet, wrote on the X social media platform, citing a source, that US envoy for the Middle East Amos Hochstein had warned that if Israel did not not respond positively in the coming days to the ceasefire agreement proposal with Lebanon, he would withdraw from the mediation efforts.

On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah Shia movement, carrying out massive airstrikes on its military targets. The stated goal is to create safe conditions for the return of local residents to Israel’s northern border areas. The Israeli army announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon in the early hours of October 1.