U.S. Envoy Says Israel Will Withdraw From Southern Lebanon NYT | Top Stories Euan Ward 7 January 2025 at 07:52 With the deadline looming for the terms of a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah to be met, an American diplomat on Monday said “much progress” had been made recently. © Mohamed Azakir/ReutersLisa Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, sits beside the U.S. special envoy, Amos Hochstein, as they talk with Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, in Beirut on Monday.