A ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah is now in effect after both sides agreed to a deal brokered by the United States and France, U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday.
The agreement brings an end to the conflict along the Israeli-Lebanese border, which has caused thousands of deaths since it began after the Gaza war last year.
Biden, speaking from the White House shortly after Israel’s security cabinet approved the deal with a 10-1 vote, said he had spoken with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The fighting will stop at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), Biden confirmed.
"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," Biden stated. He added that any remnants of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups would not be allowed to pose a threat to Israel’s security again. According to the agreement, Israel will begin a gradual withdrawal of its troops over the next 60 days, while Lebanon's army will take control of the territory near the Israeli border to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its infrastructure there.
Biden also assured that civilians on both sides of the border would soon be able to return to their homes safely.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the deal, calling it the result of months of work with Israeli and Lebanese officials, in close collaboration with the United States.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Mikati welcomed the ceasefire, and Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib stated that the Lebanese army would deploy at least 5,000 troops in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces pull back.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has faced some opposition to the deal within his coalition government, said the ceasefire would help Israel focus on the threat posed by Iran, restock its military supplies, and give its army a break. He emphasized that Israel would respond strongly to any violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah.
“We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory,” Netanyahu said. He added that in full coordination with the United States, Israel would retain complete military freedom of action and would strike decisively if Hezbollah violated the agreement or tried to rearm.
Netanyahu also said that Hezbollah, which is allied with the Palestinian group Hamas, is much weaker than it was at the beginning of the conflict. He claimed that Israel has set Hezbollah back decades by eliminating top leaders, destroying most of its rockets and missiles, neutralizing thousands of fighters, and dismantling terror infrastructure along the border.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, welcomed the ceasefire and urged all parties to take concrete steps to ensure the success of the agreement.