Hezbollah has already begun to sell
to the Lebanese who support him that he managed to impose a cease-fire on Israel. It's exactly the opposite. In just two months, the Jewish state inflicted terrible blows on the Lebanese Shiite militia. The war cabinet chaired by Benjamin Netanyahu estimated Tuesday evening that it could accept the American proposal for a 60-day truce, which should lead to a definitive ceasefire.
These two months should allow a withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon and a withdrawal of Hezbollah north of the Litani River, four to thirty kilometers from the border. The area would come under the exclusive control of the Lebanese army and 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers, in accordance with United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended a previous conflict in 2006.
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Except that at the time, neither the Lebanese army nor UNIFIL were able to prevent Hezbollah from maintaining its presence south of the Litani River, and even from developing its military infrastructure there. Israel therefore demanded guarantees from the Americans, in the form of an international committee responsible for monitoring the implementation of the agreement. And, in the event of failure, Netanyahu reserves the right to resume the bombings.
Tuesday evening, the Israeli Prime Minister was able, during a televised address, to explain to his fellow citizens that the war goals in Lebanon had been achieved. On the one hand, the 60,000 inhabitants displaced from northern Israel for more than a year, because of Hezbollah fire in support of Hamas
in Gaza, will be able to return home. On the other hand, the military capabilities of the Shiite militia have been largely reduced: hundreds of missile firing posts have been destroyed, dozens of executives have been killed, starting with its historic leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Four thousand dead
His successor Naïm Qassem, during his first public speech on October 30, stopped making ending the war in Gaza an absolute prerequisite for any truce with Israel. This clearly signified the desire of Hezbollah, and its Iranian sponsor, to stop the costs.
Israel took its time before responding favorably to the Biden administration's mediation. The army general staff wanted to complete the dismantling of Hezbollah's capabilities, before stopping its strikes. They continued until the last moment, even though the Lebanese government and Hezbollah had given their agreement to the American mediator Amos Hochstein on Monday. On Tuesday, no fewer than twenty targets in Beirut were targeted by Israeli aircraft, causing dozens of victims.
Triggered on October 7, 2023 by Hamas attacks in Israel, the war on the Lebanese front left more than 4,000 dead, including 130 on the Israeli side.
