After weeks of diplomatic brokerage involving the US and France, a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel appears to be holding. While it is early days, the cessation of full-scale conflict in and around southern Lebanon at least spells promise that some form of stability can be maintained in the violent region.

US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut in a bid to secure a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, as the Lebanese group reportedly approved a new proposal to halt the hostilities, with some comments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blunt about that strategy, telling the Knesset plenum on Monday, that Israel was negotiating under fire.