White House "Close to Agreement on Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah...discussion positive"

The White House says a ceasefire agreement between Israel and pro-Iranian militant Hezbollah is imminent and is optimistic that a final deal will be reached.

John Kirby, the White House National Security Council's communications adviser, told a briefing that the discussions between the two sides were constructive and that he believed the negotiations were close to a settlement.

Kirby said nothing would be done until everything was done, adding that he would do so as soon as he had something to announce and it was practical to do so.

At the same time, he declined to comment on details related to the negotiations.

Earlier, U.S. Internet media Axios reported that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a cease-fire deal, citing a senior U.S. official.

The official said he expects the Israeli security cabinet to approve the agreement today local time and thinks the agreement has been reached.

The official added, however, that Israeli cabinet approval is needed until then, something could always go wrong.

The draft cease-fire deal calls for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops to be deployed near the border, while Hezbollah moves heavy weapons north of the Ritani River.

It is also supposed to have a ceasefire transition period of 60 days for both sides to implement these conditions.