Lebanon sees the start of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire accord.
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah is “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” according to US President Joe Biden.
Hours after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a proposal to end the “devastating” conflict, a truce between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah went into force, promising to stop the nearly 14 months of cross-border violence that has claimed hundreds of lives.
Concerns about whether the ceasefire would last and result in a lasting cessation of fighting between Israel’s military and Hezbollah troops prompted the ceasefire to start at 4 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
“The conflict between Israel and Lebanon will come to an end. When Biden announced the deal Tuesday evening, he stated, “This is intended to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
According to Biden, “people on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities and start rebuilding their homes, schools, farms, businesses, and very lives. “Hezbollah has not yet made an official statement. The party did not take part in any direct discussions on the ceasefire; instead, Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri mediated on its behalf.
According to his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also informed the US president that the truce had been agreed by his administration and that he valued his “understanding that Israel will maintain its freedom of action in enforcing it.”
The ceasefire deal calls for the Lebanese Army and state security forces to deploy to southern Lebanon as Israel “gradually withdraws” its forces from the region over the course of the following 60 days.
Both nations “will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure this arrangement is fully implemented and enforced,” Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized in a joint statement. In order to promote security and prosperity in the area, the US and France jointly pledged “to lead and support international efforts for capacity-building of the Lebanese Armed Forces as well as economic development throughout Lebanon.” On October 8, 2023, Lebanon started attacking Israel in support of Gaza’s Palestinians. For months, cross-border attacks continued. Then Israel invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of last month. Since the conflict started, at least 15,699 Lebanese have been injured and 3,768 have died.
Continuous combat
Israeli airplanes continued to strike Lebanon on Tuesday, hammering the southern suburbs of Beirut ahead of the planned ceasefire. Zein Basravi of Al Jazeera reported from the capital of Lebanon that Israeli strikes persisted in the minutes following Biden’s announcement of an impending truce. “We heard tremendous explosions in Beirut about five minutes after Biden finished his remarks. In northern Israel, sirens began to blare once more,” he claimed.
A fresh campaign for a ceasefire in Gaza
Kimberly Halkett of Al Jazeera reported from the White House that the ceasefire declaration coincides with the end of Biden’s term.
On January 20, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president of the United States, will assume office. The Biden administration has made several unsuccessful attempts to mediate a ceasefire deal in Gaza. It has consistently declined to use US military assistance to Israel as leverage in its peace efforts.
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