IsraelThe cabinet has approved the US-backed one ceasefire proposal After lengthy negotiations between Israel and Hezbollah on Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the proposal to the Cabinet for approval on Tuesday evening, local time. The deal was approved 10-1, with only far-right minister Ben Gvir voting against the plan.
The deal went into effect at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as expected.
The deal went into effect five hours after Israel announced it. Shortly after Israel shared the news, there was an announcement at the White House by President Joe Biden.
The Lebanese army and security forces will be deployed in southern Lebanon in the next 60 days and will take control of the territory controlled by Hezbollah, Biden said. At the same time, Israel will withdraw its forces in the next 60 days to allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.
However, as the deal did not come into effect until the morning, shelling continued in Beirut as Biden wrapped up his comments.
“Israel appreciates the US contribution to the process, and reserves the right to act against any threat to its security,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said, translated from Hebrew.
Netanyahu said earlier, when presenting the deal for approval, that the deal is still based on Hezbollah’s actions.
Hezbollah has not yet officially commented on the ceasefire.
“The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. We will continue together until victory is achieved.”
President Joe Biden speaks about the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in the Rose Garden of the White House on November 26, 2024 in Washington.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Biden echoed those thoughts in his comments, saying, “Let me be clear, if Hezbollah or anyone else violates the agreement and makes a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense, consistent with international law, simply because it is a country against a terrorist group. like any country committed to destroying it.”
The prime minister hailed “great achievements” on all fronts of the war, including the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the destruction of weapons across the country.
“With full understanding with the US, we maintain full military freedom of action,” Netanyahu said, translated from Hebrew. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself — we will attack. If it tries to upgrade terrorist infrastructure near the border — we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings a truckload of missiles — we will attack.”
The agreement does not affect Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. However, Biden said that the United States will continue to work to find peace in Gaza.
“Just as the people of Lebanon deserve a future of security and prosperity, so do the people of Gaza,” Biden said. “They too deserve an end to fighting and displacement. The people of Gaza have gone through hell, their world completely shattered.”
He continued, “Too many civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, and Hamas has refused for months and months to negotiate a good-faith cease-fire and hostage deal. And so now Hamas has the option to do its only course. It is to release the hostages, including American citizens. , which they retain”.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike that hit the Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern Lebanese city of Tire on November 26, 2024, amid the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images
Netanyahu attended a meeting with security officials Sunday night about a cease-fire in Lebanon with Israel’s Hezbollah rivals, an Israeli official told ABC News.
This was part of ongoing talks, including Netanyahu’s meeting in Israel last week with US special envoy Amos Hochstein. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut to discuss a possible way forward.
Netanyahu then held a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.
In October, Israel invaded southern Lebanon escalating the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.
Tensions rose last weekend as the countries’ leaders worked to negotiate a ceasefire agreement. On Sunday, Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel, in one of the group’s heaviest retaliations in months.
