Israeli officials have demanded freedom to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of any emerging cease-fire deal between the sides, raising a potential complication as a top U.S. envoy was in the region

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised speech aired on Wednesday that his group had reviewed and given feedback on a U.S.-drafted ceasefire proposal to end fighting with Israel, and that a halt to hostilities was now in Israel's hands.

The envoy, Amos Hochstein, said an end to the fighting was “within our grasp” after meeting in Beirut with Lebanon’s Parliament speaker, a key interlocutor with Hezbollah.