Israel and Lebanon have accepted a US-backed proposal to end the 13-month border conflict that spiraled into an all-out war in September with Hezbollah. <\/p>\n
From the White House\u2019s Rose Garden, US President Joe Biden said the deal that took effect early Wednesday morning, at 4 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET on Tuesday) \u201cis designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.\u201d <\/p>\n
The ceasefire \u201cwill create the conditions to restore lasting calm and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line,\u201d according to a joint statement from Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, referring to the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel. <\/p>\n
The US and France will work with both sides to \u201censure this arrangement is fully implemented and enforced.\u201d <\/p>\n
After Israel\u2019s security cabinet voted to approve the deal on Tuesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the Lebanon ceasefire needs to guarantee the safety of residents in northern Israel. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe emerging arrangement will have to meet only one test \u2013 guaranteeing full security for all residents of the north,\u201d he said on X. While the ceasefire is \u201ccorrect and important,\u201d Herzog said Israel would protect its citizens \u201cin any way.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lebanon\u2019s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire deal and thanked both the US and France for their efforts during a call with Biden on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Hezbollah has also agreed to the terms of the deal, according to multiple Lebanese sources. <\/p>\n
The deal stipulates a 60-day cessation of hostilities, which negotiators have described as the foundation of a lasting truce. During that time, Hezbollah fighters are expected to retreat some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border, while Israeli ground forces withdraw from Lebanese territory. <\/p>\n
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last all-out war between the two countries in 2006, has been the basis of the deal and the negotiations have mainly revolved around the treaty\u2019s enforcement. <\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Lebanon would implement a more rigorous supervision of Hezbollah\u2019s movements south of the country\u2019s Litani river, to prevent militants from regrouping there. United Nations peacekeeping troops, the Lebanese military and a multinational committee will be tasked with supervising the Iran-backed group\u2019s movements. <\/p>\n
Israel has vowed to resume military operations in case of a breach of the agreement. <\/p>\n
The ceasefire agreement heralds much-needed respite for Lebanese civilians, hundreds of whom have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, as well as for Israelis, millions of whom have taken to shelters amid Hezbollah\u2019s daily barrage of rocket fire. <\/p>\n
But there are questions about how long the truce may hold for. Israel insists that it will take military action in response to any breach of the agreement. That could reignite the conflict, putting US-backed diplomatic efforts in jeopardy. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has agreed to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, some 40 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon frontier at its furthest point. It made that concession in 2006 but violated it, building a vast underground infrastructure in an area where its members are part of the social fabric. Israel also breached the 2006 agreement by conducting near daily overflights in Lebanon. <\/p>\n
The truce violations allowed Hezbollah to strengthen its forces tremendously, while Israel gathered intelligence on the militant group that would prove to be a game-changer in the 2024 war. <\/p>\n
Still, the 2006 truce held for nearly two decades, the longest period of calm on that political fault-line since the 1960s. <\/p>\n
Hezbollah first began to fire at Israeli-held territory a day after Hamas\u2019 October 7 surprise attack in Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, triggering Israel\u2019s ongoing devastating offensive in Gaza. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until it ceased its assault in Gaza. <\/p>\n
In an overnight meeting that began on September 16, Israel\u2019s war cabinet expanded its stated war goals to include the return of residents displaced in the north of the country, as Hezbollah\u2019s daily rocket fire on northern Israel has displaced more than 60,000 Israelis from their homes. <\/p>\n
Hours later, Israel detonated thousands of Hezbollah pagers, killing scores and wounding hundreds. That was followed by an attack on the group\u2019s walkie-talkies the next day. On September 23, Israel launched an all-out offensive on Shia-majority areas across the country where Hezbollah wields significant influence, killing over 500 people in the deadliest day for Lebanon since its civil war that ended in 1990. <\/p>\n
On September 27, Israel killed Hezbollah\u2019s long-time leader Nasrallah in a massive attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut, upending the truce talks. A series of subsequent attacks decimated the group\u2019s top brass, sending the organization even deeper underground. <\/p>\n
Israeli attacks continued to pummel large parts of the country, mainly the Shia-majority south, east and the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, killing more than 3,700 Lebanese. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at Israel at a steady rate, with some of the projectiles striking over 70 miles into the country. The vast majority of its missiles and drones were intercepted by Israel\u2019s air defense systems, but some caused damage. Since October 2023, Hezbollah\u2019s attacks on Israel have killed 47 Israeli civilians and 31 security forces in Israel. Another 46 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon. <\/p>\n
The signing of the Lebanon deal is unlikely to provide respite for Palestinians in Gaza, according to a regional analyst. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the conclusion of any deal with regards to Lebanon is likely to make one in Gaza more likely,\u201d Hellyer said, adding that there haven\u2019t been substantial ceasefire negotiations in Gaza for a long time. <\/p>\n
More than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began over a year ago, according to the health ministry in the territory. Arab states, the United Nations and aid groups have repeatedly called for an end to Israel\u2019s offensive, which has displaced almost all of Gaza\u2019s population of more than 2 million people and flattened entire neighborhoods. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have a Lebanon deal, we\u2019re going to come down like a ton of bricks on Hamas to try to get a hostage deal,\u201d the US official said before the agreement was signed, adding that Israel needs \u201cto turn this military success\u2026 into a strategic success.\u201d <\/p>\n
The United States last week vetoed another UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that it did not sufficiently link that ceasefire to the immediate release of the hostages in the territory. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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