BEIRUT: A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has taken effect amid hopes of a permanent end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, as well as more than a year of cross-border fighting.
US President Joe Biden says the deal involves Israeli forces withdrawing from Lebanon over 60 days, with the Lebanese army taking control of territory in the south of the country to ensure Hezbollah does not rebuild forces, reports Arab Media.
Lebanon’s army, which is tasked with helping make sure the ceasefire holds, said in a statement on Nov 27 it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country.
The military also asked that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military – which has waged war against Hezbollah on several occasions and pushed around 6km into Lebanese territory – withdraws.
Streams of cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli strikes in recent months began heading back to the area after the ceasefire, according to Reuters.
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the U.S. and France, a rare victory for diplomacy in a region wracked by two wars for over a year.
Lebanon’s army, which is tasked with helping to ensure the ceasefire holds, said it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country. The military asked that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military, which has waged war against Hezbollah on several occasions and pushed around 6 km (4 miles) into Lebanon, withdraws.
While the ceasefire largely held on Wednesday morning, Israel said it identified Hezbollah operatives returning to areas near the border and had opened fire to prevent them from coming closer.
The agreement, which promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, is a major achievement for the U.S. in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
The deal is likely to enable Israel to focus more closely on the conflict in shattered Gaza, where it has vowed to destroy its long-time enemy the Hamas
“Force must give way to dialogue and negotiation. This has now been achieved in Lebanon, and it must happen as soon as possible in the Gaza Strip,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Info radio.
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Egypt, which along with the United States and Qatar has tried unsuccessfully to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza, welcomed the Lebanon truce.
Israel said its military aim had been to ensure the safe return of about 60,000 Israelis who fled from their communities along the northern border when Hezbollah started firing rockets at them in support of Hamas in Gaza.
In Lebanon, some cars flew national flags, others honked, and one woman could be seen flashing the victory sign with her fingers as people started to return to homes they had fled.
Many of the villages the people were likely returning to have been destroyed. But displaced families renting out alternative housing hoped to avoid paying another month of rent, some of them told Reuters.
Announcing the ceasefire, Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday shortly after Israel’s security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. He said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and that fighting would end at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
“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 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 after a costly war, Biden said.
