{"text":[[{"start":18.13,"text":"A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hizbollah is expected “soon”, Lebanese officials have said, amid US pressure to reduce tensions in the Middle East."}],[{"start":29.36,"text":"A truce between Israel and the Lebanese militant group could come into effect “this week”, most likely after Israeli ground forces finish taking the key town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, said two people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":44.46,"text":"The conflict in Lebanon has become a sticking point in broader efforts to end the US-Israeli war against Iran."}],[{"start":53.21,"text":"Iran and Pakistan, which has acted as mediator, have insisted Lebanon is part of a 14-day ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran last week, but the US and Israel have stated it was not. Hizbollah is Iran’s most important proxy force in the Middle East."}],[{"start":72.85,"text":"On Tuesday, the US brokered the first direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in decades in Washington."}],[{"start":81.33999999999999,"text":"Late on Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow.”"}],[{"start":99.72999999999999,"text":"A senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday that Washington had not sought a ceasefire in Lebanon, adding the matter was separate from negotiations with Iran."}],[{"start":111.71999999999998,"text":"“This is not something we have asked for nor is it part of the peace negotiations with Iran, but the president would welcome the end of hostilities in Lebanon as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” they added. "}],[{"start":125.79999999999998,"text":"In a statement on Wednesday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were continuing “to strike” Hizbollah in southern Lebanon and “reinforcing” a self-declared security zone inside the country. "}],[{"start":139.82999999999998,"text":"Netanyahu added the fighting was focused on Bint Jbeil, which he called a Hizbollah stronghold that Israeli troops were “about to defeat”. "}],[{"start":148.92,"text":"Should a ceasefire in Lebanon be announced, its length would likely be tied to how long the truce between the US and Iran holds, Lebanese officials said. "}],[{"start":159.32,"text":"Israel launched its latest offensive in Lebanon after Hizbollah began firing rockets at it in retaliation for Israeli forces’ killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war."}],[{"start":174.16,"text":"Israel has carried out a massive bombardment of Lebanon, and sent troops across the border in a bid to secure what some Israeli officials have described as a “buffer zone” stretching some 8km-10km into Lebanese territory."}],[{"start":190.49,"text":"At least 2,167 people have been killed in Lebanon since the outbreak of fighting on March 2, including 260 women, 172 children and 91 medical personnel, according to the country’s health ministry. "}],[{"start":206.27,"text":"More than 1mn people have been displaced by the fighting, in a spiralling humanitarian crisis. "}],[{"start":213.9,"text":"According to Israeli authorities, more than a dozen soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive in Lebanon, with two civilians killed in Hizbollah rocket barrages."}],[{"start":225.39000000000001,"text":"One Lebanese official said a ceasefire would encompass a halt to Israel’s strikes and not a withdrawal of Israeli forces."}],[{"start":234.87,"text":"Other officials said efforts to secure the ceasefire were being led by the US, which brokered the first direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in decades on Tuesday in Washington."}],[{"start":247.3,"text":"“The meeting in Washington was the scene needed to deprive Iran and Hizbollah of the claim that they were the ones enforcing a ceasefire,” said one official."}],[{"start":265.33000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776324084_7571.mp3"}