US President Biden says Israel and Lebanon have accepted ceasefire deal
US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that Israel and Lebanon have both accepted the ceasefire deal put forth by the US, which he said will come into effect at 4am local time on Wednesday.
Several reports said the ceasefire deal would be effective at 10am local time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that its security cabinet approved the deal with a 10-1 vote.
Hezbollah has yet to make an official statement on the deal.
"Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will deploy and take control of their own territory once again. Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt," Biden said, adding that Israel would "gradually" withdraw its forces over the same time period.
"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities."
There will be no US troops deployed in Lebanon.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was asking his government to approve a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon but promised that Israel's war on Gaza would continue.
Netanyahu said Israel's attacks on Lebanon had "set Hezbollah back by decades" and it was time to focus on Gaza and "intensify" pressure on Hamas.
He also said a ceasefire in Lebanon would allow Israel to "focus on the Iranian threat" and that the truce would speed up a delayed arms shipment from the United States.
Speaking in a televised address after getting backing for the ceasefire from his security cabinet, the Israeli prime minister said he would ask all of his ministers for their approval later on Tuesday. Lebanon's parliament is expected to meet on Wednesday morning to discuss the agreement.
After Netanyahu spoke, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the international community must "act swiftly" to halt Israeli attacks "and implement an immediate ceasefire".
Biden added that the US would be turning its attention to Gaza in the coming days and, for the first time, included Turkey in a mediating role.
"Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza."
However, Netanyahu's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, called the proposed ceasefire a "historic mistake" as it does not include a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
"In order to leave Lebanon, we must have our own security belt, he posted on X.
Details of the expected deal
US and Arab officials told Middle East Eye that the ceasefire would initially be for 60 days and see Israeli forces withdraw from south Lebanon. Netanyahu said the duration of the truce will depend on "what happens in Lebanon".
Hezbollah has agreed to end its armed presence along the border and move heavy weapons north of the Litani River, the sources said.
The Lebanese army is expected to deploy in south Lebanon, with at least 5,000 troops set to patrol the border area along with an existing UN peacekeeping force, which will be boosted with French soldiers.
An international committee, including the US and France, will be established to supervise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Arab and US officials told MEE the United States will deploy technical military advisers to Lebanon and provide additional funds to the Lebanese army.
A senior US official told MEE that Israel will not be granted the right to attack Lebanon if it detects "suspicious movements".
Israel will have to report any movement it deems suspicious to the US-led international committee, which in turn will inform the Lebanese army to take the necessary action.
If the Lebanese army fails to act after receiving a complaint regarding locations south of the Litani River or in any Lebanese area, Israel will reportedly consider the agreement void and resume its attacks on Lebanon.
However, on Tuesday, Netanyahu insisted Israel will retain "complete military freedom of action" and "respond forcefully to any violation".
The agreement will also deepen the US's ongoing efforts to support and finance the Lebanese army, enabling it to extend control over all Lebanese territories.
How it's being viewed
The ceasefire deal has been received with mixed reactions within Israel, with the country's far-right national security minister, Ben Gvir, calling it a "historic mistake".
Israeli parliamentarian Avigdor Lieberman critiqued it, saying, “This agreement is not good because it does not require the Lebanese army and government to disarm Hezbollah.”
Ameet Makhol, an analyst and researcher in Haifa, told Middle East Eye that the deal was Israel's admission that it could not achieve a decisive military victory.
"This might be the first rational decision acknowledging the limits of power and acknowledging that the army is exhausted, overburdened, and placing a heavy strain on soldiers, especially on the reserve forces," Makhol said.
Makhol said the deal was also a way to shift focus towards Syria and Iran. "There is no rush regarding Gaza. Instead, the warning to [Bashar al-]Assad and the emphasis on prioritising action against Iran may define the next phase."
The US will transition to a new government in January, with President-elect Donald Trump taking office. Makhol said the agreement was a way to buy time, not to permanently end hostilities as Biden said, with Netanyahu "viewing the truce as a waiting period for Trump".
"Israel is betting on its plans and alliance with the United States and a mechanism to manage the situation through an active role for Centcom, a permanent presence in Lebanon, and overseeing the agreement," Makhol added.
Stepping up attacks
Over recent weeks, the US, European Union and United Nations have pushed to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into full-scale war in late September when the Israeli military launched widespread bombardment of Lebanon.
Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October but have since been met with heavy resistance by Hezbollah fighters.
Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed and over 15,600 wounded by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the majority since the end of September.
The war has also displaced over one million people in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks destroying or damaging nearly a quarter of buildings in border villages in the south.
Hezbollah's attacks have meanwhile displaced 60,000 people in northern Israel.
On Tuesday, Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon as a ceasefire neared. Beirut's southern suburbs were subjected to the widest salvo of strikes since the war began, while central areas of the Lebanese capital were also hit.
Israel's military issued expulsion orders for several heavily residential and commercial areas of central Beirut, sending residents fleeing during rush hour.
Meanwhile, the expected ceasefire was proving unpopular in Israel in the days leadng up to the deal. Opposition leader Benny Gantz warned it would not deter Hezbollah, with a poll saying 55 percent of the public was against a ceasefire being reached in Lebanon.
Avigdor Liberman, a former defence minister and head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said on Tuesday the ceasefire was a "surrender to terror".
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-approves-ceasefire-deal-lebanon-hezbollah
posted by Satish Sharma at
05:39
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