Israel, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire brokered by US and France, to take effect Wednesday

WASHINGTON: A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah will take effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday. The accord, clearing the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities, Biden said.

Biden, who gave remarks at the White House shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote, said he had spoken to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border would end at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), he said.

“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,“ Biden said. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”

Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over a period of 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there, Biden said.

“Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities,“ he said.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib earlier said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw.

Netanyahu earlier said he was ready to implement a ceasefire deal and would respond forcefully to any violation by Hezbollah, declaring Israel would retain “complete military freedom of action”.

Netanyahu, who faces some opposition to the deal from within his coalition government, said the ceasefire would allow Israel to focus on the threat from Iran, replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest, and to isolate Hamas, the militant group that triggered war in the region when it attacked Israel from Gaza last year.

“We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory,“ Netanyahu said.

“In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action. Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively.”

Netanyahu said Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and allied to Hamas, was considerably weaker than it had been at the start of the conflict.

“We have set it back decades, eliminated ... its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border,“ he said.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, welcomed the ceasefire deal in a statement, commending the parties to the agreement “on seizing the opportunity to close this devastating chapter.”

“Now is the time to deliver, through concrete actions, to consolidate today’s achievement.”

There was no indication that a truce in Lebanon would hasten a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in devastated Gaza, where Israel is battling Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A poll conducted by Israel's Channel 12 TV found that 37% of Israelis were in favor of the ceasefire, compared with 32% against.

Opponents to the deal in Israel include opposition leaders and heads of towns near Israel's border with Lebanon, who want a depopulated buffer zone on Lebanon's side of the frontier.

Both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have insisted that a return of displaced civilians to southern Lebanon is a key tenet of the truce.

Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a right-wing member of Netanyahu's government, said on social-media platform X the agreement does not ensure the return of Israelis to their homes in the country's north and that the Lebanese army did not have the ability to overcome Hezbollah.

“In order to leave Lebanon, we must have our own security belt,“ Ben-Gvir said.

HOSTILITIES CONTINUED ON TUESDAY

Despite the diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities raged as Israel dramatically ramped up its campaign of airstrikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, with health authorities reporting at least 18 killed.

The Israeli military said it struck “components of Hezbollah's financial management and systems” including a money-exchange office.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah also kept up rocket fire into Israel.

Israel's air force intercepted three launches from Lebanese territory, the military said, in an extensive missile barrage on Tuesday night that led to warning alarms in approximately 115 settlements.