The guns along the Lebanese-Israeli border were due to fall silent at 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Hours earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden had stood at the White House and announced the deal. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet had signed off on the plan the same day, 10 votes to 1, his office said. The truce is meant to end nearly 14 months of cross-border fighting that sent tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes and killed thousands of Lebanese.
What the deal requires
Over 60 days, Israel is to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, which Al Jazeera described as a gradual pullback. The Lebanese army moves into the area. Hezbollah, for its part, must end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River. Biden said civilians on both sides should be able to return home safely during that window.
Many did not wait. Al Jazeera reported that tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese began heading south as soon as the truce took hold, ignoring Israeli military warnings to stay away until its forces withdrew. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who negotiated on behalf of Hezbollah, urged all displaced people, including those abroad, to come back. “Come back to your land. Your land will be stronger with your presence,” he said in a televised speech.
Hezbollah took no part in direct talks and had not formally commented by the time the ceasefire began.
Warnings from both sides
Netanyahu did not say how long the truce would last, only that it “depends on what happens in Lebanon.” His warning was blunt: “If they launch a rocket, dig a tunnel, or bring in a truck with missiles, we will strike.” Biden likewise stressed that Israel keeps its right to self-defense if any party breaks the terms. Netanyahu’s office said he thanked Biden for understanding that Israel will keep its freedom of action in enforcing the arrangement.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called the agreement a “fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon.” He insisted the army has jurisdiction over security in the south and that Israel must stay committed to withdrawing. Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement that their countries would work with both sides to see the arrangement fully implemented and enforced.
The cost so far
The Lebanese Health Ministry says the war has killed at least 3,799 people in Lebanon since October 2023. Al Jazeera, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the Gaza war began, put the toll at 3,823 dead and 15,859 wounded. On the Israeli side, authorities report at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians killed.
The final hours were violent. Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes yet on Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. The Israeli military said a barrage hit 20 targets in the city in two minutes. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported seven people killed and 37 wounded when a strike destroyed a four-storey building in Beirut’s Nweiri area that housed displaced people. Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said explosions rang out in Beirut within about five minutes of Biden finishing his speech.
Gaza is not covered
The agreement leaves the war in Gaza untouched. Netanyahu said Israel would now turn its attention to Hamas and to Iran, his top security concern. “With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own,” he said. Biden said Gaza deserves a ceasefire too and promised another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued the Lebanon deal could help there as well, by showing Hamas it cannot count on other fronts opening up. Biden also pointed to the final stretch of his term. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Sources
- Israel, Hezbollah Agree On Lebanon Cease-Fire To End Nearly 14 Months Of Fighting
- Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes effect in Lebanon
Sources
- Google News – News about ceasefire • Hezbollah • Lebanon – Overview
- Israel, Hezbollah Agree On Lebanon Cease-Fire To End Nearly 14…
