A ceasefire has been agreed to end 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, US President Joe Biden has announced.
“Effective at 04:00 today local time (02:00 GMT on Wednesday), the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end,” Biden said, adding that it aimed to be a “permanent cessation of hostilities”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not hesitate to strike if Hezbollah breaks any part of the agreed deal.
There has been no response from the Iran-backed armed group which had been trading fire with Israel since October 2023. Fighting escalated in late September when Israel intensified bombardments and launched a limited ground invasion.
It has been Lebanon’s deadliest conflict in decades, killing more than 3,823 people say local officials.
The ceasefire started overnight on Wednesday as planned.
Attacks by both sides were recorded until shortly before the deal came into effect.
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Israel issued evacuation orders for parts of Beirut four hours before the ceasefire deadline, striking shortly before the deadline. Hezbollah also fired drones into Israel in the hours before fighting stopped.
Under the deal announced on Tuesday and brokered by the US, there will be a 60-day period during which Israel will gradually withdraw its troops from Lebanon’s south as Lebanese government forces regain control of an area currently held by Hezbollah.
It is expected that Hezbollah fighters and weapons will be removed from the area south of the Litani River, a boundary established at the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
“This announcement will create the conditions to restore lasting calm and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes,” said a joint statement from the US and France – which will be involved in monitoring the implementation of the deal.
Israel has claimed the right to respond with military action if Hezbollah breaches the ceasefire. President Biden has echoed this saying Israel “retains the right to self defence consistent with international law”.
“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also said ending the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbour, would allow the Israel Defense Forces, IDF, to focus on “the Iranian threat”.
Hezbollah in Lebanon had long been seen as Iran’s first line of defence. But with much of the group’s missile arsenal now destroyed, the military balance between Iran and Israel appears to have tilted in Israel’s favour.
BBC.com
