Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah signed a cease-fire agreement on Tuesday, paving the way for the end of a war that has killed thousands of people since it was sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he was prepared to enforce a cease-fire agreement with Lebanon and would “respond forcefully to any violation” by Hezbollah. The idea was awaiting approval from the full Cabinet.
“In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action,” Mr. Netanyahu stated. “Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively.”
With Israeli permission, President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement declaring a cease-fire. On Wednesday, guns along the Israel-Lebanon border would go silent.
Fighting is expected to halt for 60 days, giving Israel time to gradually withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon as Hezbollah pushes its forces closer to Israel’s border.
The accord is unlikely to have a significant influence on the 14-month-old Gaza War.
Biden announced the cease-fire in a speech from the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, describing it as a reminder that “peace is possible.”
Biden stated that more than 70,000 Israelis and 300,000 Lebanese have been forced to live as refugees in their own nations since the war began. Biden described the conflict as “the deadliest” between Israel and Hezbollah in decades.
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Mr. Biden added. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed − I repeat, will not be allowed − to threaten the security of Israel again.”
Israel launched an offensive in Lebanon in mid-September, following months of border violence that began when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza.
According to estimates from Lebanon’s health ministry, Israel has murdered over 3,000 people in the country since then. More than one million people have been displaced from their homes. Over the last year, Hezbollah has launched thousands of missiles toward northern Israel, pushing Israelis living there to evacuate south.
“We’re determined that this conflict will not be just another cycle of violence,” Biden said, adding that the people of Gaza, like those of Lebanon, “deserve a future of security and prosperity” as well as “an end to the fighting and displacement.”
Biden is attempting to achieve an Israel-Hamas cease-fire before his presidential term expires on January 20, which would return the remaining hostages in Gaza home, including several Americans.
“Far too many civilians in Gaza have suffered far too much, and Hamas has refused for months and months to negotiate a good-faith cease-fire and a hostage deal,” according to Biden. “So now Hamas has a choice to make: Their only way out is to release the hostages, including American citizens which they hold, and in the process bring an end to the fighting, which would make possible a surge of humanitarian relief.”
Shaking Beirut ‘to its core’
Israel’s offensive included a land invasion, killing several Hezbollah commanders, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, and injuring thousands with exploding pagers.
Netanyahu claimed Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and aligned with Hamas, was significantly weaker than it had been at the start of the battle.
“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 told reporters. “We targeted strategic objectives across Lebanon, shaking Beirut to its core.”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas assaulted Israel, killing around 1,200 people and transporting 251 others back to Gaza as hostages. Israel replied by waging a military campaign against Hamas. Israel has killed at least 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest order for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, charging that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu denies the claim.
Netanyahu stated that the cease-fire was necessary to shift Israel’s emphasis to its arch-rival Iran, to give Israeli soldiers “a breather,” and to “separate the fronts and isolate Hamas.” Hamas had been banking on Hezbollah to fight with it since the war began. With Hezbollah out of the scene, Hamas is on its own.
There was no quick response from Hezbollah, Hamas, or Iran.
The United Nations, the Israeli and Lebanese militaries, France, and the United States will oversee the cease-fire deal.
Even after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire, Israel launched airstrikes on southern Beirut on Tuesday, while Hezbollah continued to launch rockets at northern Israel.
According to the health ministry of Lebanon, 31 persons were killed in Israeli attacks across the country on Monday. The agreement was authorized by Israel’s security Cabinet, but numerous far-right ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government opposed it.
For years, Israel and Hezbollah have maintained low-level confrontations. The spillover from the Gaza conflict to Lebanon is the most significant escalation between Israel and Hezbollah since 2006, when they last fought a major war.