Amos Hochstein set to visit Beirut

American envoy Amos Hochstein is scheduled to visit Beirut next week, as the conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli army intensifies, according to reports from multiple regional media outlets.

At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Israel on Tuesday as part of a broader regional visit, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid confirmed.

In a Friday evening interview with al-Jadeed, a Lebanese news outlet, Hochstein emphasized the importance of encouraging the Lebanese state to deploy its army to Southern Lebanon, in line with UN Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006.

He acknowledged, however, that the resolution had not been fully implemented and called for an "amendment" to 1701 to address these shortcomings. 

Hochstein also underscored the need for the war in Lebanon to be treated separately from other regional conflicts, a veiled reference to Hezbollah's demand to tie any ceasefire in Lebanon to an end to Israel's military offensive in Gaza.