Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein and US Middle East adviser Brett McGurk on Thursday that any ceasefire deal with Lebanon's Hezbollah would have to guarantee Israeli security.

"The prime minister specified that the main issue is not paperwork for this or that deal, but Israel's determination and capacity to ensure the deal's application and to prevent any threat to its security from Lebanon," Netanyahu's office said after the meeting took place in Jerusalem.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant met the envoys separately Thursday for a discussion which he said in a statement focused on "security arrangements as these relate to the northern arena and Lebanon, and efforts to ensure the return of 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza".

Rocket fired from Lebanon kills two in Israel

The comments came as Israeli emergency services said a rocket launched from Lebanon killed two people in an olive grove in northern Israel, bringing the day's toll to seven dead.

Medics "treated and attempted resuscitation on a 30-year-old male and a 60-year-old female, who were then pronounced dead. A 71-year-old male with mild shrapnel injuries to his limbs was evacuated," the Magen David Adom first responders said in a statement.  

                

 

                

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