United States envoy Amos Hochstein is due to visit the Lebanese capital Beirut “imminently” after Lebanon responded “positively” to a US-backed proposal to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday.

Israel has stepped up strikes on the city’s southern suburbs in recent days, an area Israeli officials say hosts Hezbollah militants and infrastructure.

The decision followed two Israeli airstrikes, one targeting the busy shopping district of Mar Elias and another in the Ras al-Nabaa area of Beirut. According to the Ministry of Public Health, the Mar Elias strike killed three people and injured 13 others, while the Ras al-Nabaa strike killed four and injured 14.

An Israeli airstrike killed five people in central Beirut on Monday, Lebanon's health ministry said, the second day in a row Israel has hit a target within the capital as it presses its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

President Biden's envoy, Amos Hochstein, travelled to Beirut on Monday in an effort to finalize a ceasefire agreement that would end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, U.S. officials said. Why it matters: Hochstein's trip to Beirut is a sign that a deal could be within reach,

The U.S. official overseeing contacts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon is due to visit Beirut on Tuesday, sources in Lebanon said on Monday, with Beirut expected give its response to a U.

By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily BEIRUT (Reuters) -A U.S. envoy is due in Lebanon on Tuesday for talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, with Beirut positive about Washington's efforts to end the war but seeking changes to how a truce would be monitored,