Though the Israeli Cabinet has yet to officially approve it, word from senior officials is that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to terms of a ceasefire agreement to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
It is significant because in addition to ending the fighting -- more than 3,500 Lebanese have been killed and more than 15,000 injured in more than a year of fighting -- the agreement would allow hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to gradually return home.
Former UN Ambassador Nancy Soderberg joined us on The Morning Show and said she is optimistic the ceasefire will last more than the proposed two months.
She also discussed the U.S. agreeing to give Israel a letter of assurances that includes support for Israeli military action against imminent threats if the Lebanese military did not deal with the threat.
Another motivating factor for reaching the agreement now is that no one wanted the war to spill into Syria, Iraq or Iran.