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Live updates: Israel is on ‘high level of alert’ for Iran’s response, source says

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a press conference in Paris, France on October 24.

US officials remain doubtful whether a final diplomatic push in the Middle East this week will result in a lull in fighting in Gaza before Tuesday’s US presidential election, according to people familiar with the thinking, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waits to to see who the next American will be. will be chairman.

Hopes for progress in ending fighting in Lebanon are slightly higher, with the country’s prime minister expressing optimism on Thursday that an agreement to end cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah would enter its final stages can be located.

Any progress in lowering temperatures in the region will be considered a victory within the White House. Still, the sense that Netanyahu is waiting out the U.S. campaign season — a long-held view within the Biden administration — remains strong as top envoys tour the region to discuss the prospects for ending the violence.

CIA Director Bill Burns was in Cairo on Thursday for discussions on Gaza and Lebanon, including a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

At the same time, US envoy Amos Hochstein and White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk are in Israel for talks on hostage and ceasefire issues, along with a discussion on Iran, all focused on the US policy of “de-escalation supported by deterrence.”

Hopes for an agreement to end fighting on the Israel-Lebanon border have been boosted again by progress in talks in recent days, and Hochstein was expected to continue talks this week.

Read more about the diplomatic push.