A Lebanese official and a Western diplomat said Monday that Washington had informed Lebanese officials that a ceasefire with Israel could be announced "within hours."

An Israeli official said the government will hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

In Washington, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said ceasefire talks with Hezbollah were "moving forward," but insisted that Israel would retain the ability to strike southern Lebanon in any agreement.

The ambassador said ahead of the UN Security Council meeting that he expected the Israeli cabinet to meet on Monday or Tuesday to discuss the issue of a ceasefire in Lebanon.

In turn, the Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, told Reuters that the truce sponsored by Washington is based on the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese forces within 60 days.

He added that one of the points of contention over who would monitor the ceasefire had been resolved in the past 24 hours by agreeing to form a committee of five countries, including France, and chaired by the United States.

He pointed out that "there are no new obstacles to the truce."