WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden's senior advisers Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk will arrive in Israel on Oct 31 to try to close a deal that would end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported on Oct 29, citing three unidentified sources.

       A deal that would end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could be achieved within a few weeks, Israeli and US officials said, according to Axios.

       Mr Hochstein and Mr McGurk are expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, according to the Axios report.

       Israeli and US officials believe that Hezbollah is finally willing to disconnect itself from Hamas in Gaza after some of the blows that the Lebanese militant group faced over the past two months, including the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Axios report said.

       Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X earlier in the day that Mr Netanyahu was to hold a meeting on the evening of Oct 29 with ministers and the heads of the country’s military and intelligence community about talks for a diplomatic solution to the war in Lebanon, citing two sources.

       The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS