United States envoy Amos Hochstein is due to visit the Lebanese capital Beirut “imminently” after Lebanon responded “positively” to a US-backed proposal to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday.

Israel has stepped up strikes on the city’s southern suburbs in recent days, an area Israeli officials say hosts Hezbollah militants and infrastructure.

Efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified, with a US envoy expected to return to Lebanon for talks over a possible deal, amid an escalation of Israel’s air attacks across the country.