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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. .
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes carried out the heaviest wave of attacks on Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict, issuing a record number of evacuation orders. At least 24 people have been killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, with Israel indicating it aims to continue its attacks on Hezbollah before a ceasefire is reached at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
Immediately after the ceasefire was announced, another large-scale airstrike shook Beirut.
Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said. US President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the deal “good news” and said his administration would push for a renewed ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would be the first major step toward ending the region-wide unrest sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it means Hamas still holds dozens of hostages and the conflict spirals further out of control.
US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East without specifying how. The Biden administration spent much of this year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release in the Gaza Strip, but talks were repeatedly interrupted.
Still, a cessation of fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran. Iran supports both Hezbollah and Hamas and twice exchanged direct fire with Israel earlier this year.
Israel says it will ‘strongly attack’ Hezbollah if it breaks ceasefire
Prime Minister Netanyahu presented the ceasefire proposal to his cabinet after a televised address listing a series of achievements against Israel’s enemies across the region. He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in the Gaza Strip and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran, which supports both groups.
“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said. “We will attack any violation with all our might.”
The cease-fire agreement calls for an initial two-month cessation of fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its military presence in large swaths of southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers will be deployed to the south, and an international commission led by the United States will monitor compliance on both sides.
However, big question marks remain regarding implementation. Israel demands the right to act if Hezbollah violates its obligations. Lebanese authorities refused to include it in the proposal.
Biden said Israel reserves the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah violates the terms of the ceasefire, but the deal is “aimed at a permanent cessation of hostilities.” Ta.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said Israel appreciates U.S. efforts to secure an agreement but “reserves the right to act against any threats to its security.”
Hezbollah has said it is open to the proposal, but a senior official from the organization said Tuesday that it had not yet seen the deal take its final form.
Mahmoud Kamati, vice-chairman of Hezbollah’s political council, said: “After reviewing the agreements signed by our enemy governments, we will see if there is a correspondence between what we have said and what Lebanese officials have agreed to.” Mahmoud Kamati, vice-chairman of the Hezbollah Political Council, told Al Jazeera News Network. .
“We of course want an end to aggression, but not at the expense of national sovereignty” of Lebanon, he said. “We reject any violation of sovereignty.”
Fighter jets bomb Beirut and its southern suburbs
Despite growing optimism from Israeli, U.S., Lebanese and international officials about a ceasefire, Israel continues its military operation in Lebanon, saying it aims to cripple Hezbollah’s military capabilities. .
Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday destroyed residential buildings in the Basta district of central Beirut. It was the second time in recent days that a fighter jet crashed into a crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 injured, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. At least one person was killed and 13 others injured in an airstrike on the southern outskirts of Beirut, authorities said.
Three people were killed in a separate attack in Beirut, and another at a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said 10 more people were killed in the eastern province of Baalbek. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and its infrastructure.
Israel also struck for the first time a building in Beirut’s busy Hamra commercial district, about 400 meters (yards) from Lebanon’s central bank. There were no reports of casualties.
The Israeli military said it had attacked targets in Beirut and other areas linked to Hezbollah’s financial arm.
The evacuation advisory covered many areas, including parts of Beirut not previously covered. This warning, combined with fears that Israel was accelerating its attacks before the ceasefire, prompted the evacuation of the population. Traffic was backed up and some cars had mattresses tied up. Dozens of people, some in pajamas, gathered in the central square, huddled under blankets or standing around a fire, as Israeli drones roared overhead.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets and set off air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adlai issued an evacuation warning for 20 buildings on the southern outskirts of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a major stronghold, as well as the southern town of Nakoura, home to the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL. uttered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers would not be evacuated.
Israeli forces reach the Litani River in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military also announced that ground forces clashed with Hezbollah forces in the Sloki area on the east end of the Litani River, several kilometers from the Israeli border, and destroyed a rocket launcher.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah is required to move its troops north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers north of the border in some places.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel on October 7, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel and sparked the Gaza war, in a show of support for the Palestinians. Israel struck back against Hezbollah, and the two sides have continued their barrage ever since.
Israel escalated its artillery campaign in mid-September, then sent troops into Lebanon and vowed to halt Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of displaced Israelis could return home.
More than 3,760 people have died in Israeli fires in Lebanon over the past 13 months, many of them civilians, Lebanese health officials said. The air strikes forced 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Around 50,000 Israelis were forced to evacuate in northern Israel due to Hezbollah shelling, and rockets reached as far as Tel Aviv in southern Israel. At least 75 people were killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have been killed in a ground attack in Lebanon.
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