Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday, November 26, 2024 around 7:30 p.m. that the security cabinet would adopt a ceasefire in Lebanon as soon as ” This evening “. Which he did a few hours later. This truce will start at 4 a.m. local time, that is to say at 3 a.m. French time.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati believes that this truce is “fundamental step” towards regional stability. He also thanked Washington and Paris for their involvement in the negotiations. The Prime Minister also indicated that his government was committed to “strengthen the presence of the army in the south of the country”, bastion you Hezbollah.
The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have stepped up efforts in recent days to impose a truce between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist movement supported by Iran. The latter entered open war at the end of September after months of exchanges of fire on the sidelines of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
A duration which “depends on what happens in Lebanon”
If Hezbollah violates the truce, Israel “will respond”, warned Benjamin Netanyahu, before adding that the Hebrew State will retain freedom of action « total » in Lebanon. On the duration of this ceasefire, the Israeli Prime Minister announced that it “depends on what happens in Lebanon.”
If the fighting should stop in Lebanon, Israel intends to continue its strikes against its other enemies in the region. The pressure of the Jewish state on Hamas « va s’intensifier », warned Benjamin Netanyahu who also affirmed that this truce in Lebanon will allow his country to “focus on the Iranian threat”.
Read also: REPORTING. Ceasefire in Lebanon: serious doubts about the army's capabilities to deploy in the South
The United States and France will ensure compliance with the agreement
The Democratic President of the United States welcomed this truce and hopes that it will allow “a new beginning” for Lebanon. Benjamin Netanyahu also thanked Joe Biden “for his involvement” in the negotiations that led to it.
In a joint statement, the French American presidents declared that Washington and Paris would ensure that the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon was “implemented in its entirety and enforced”. For Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron this ceasefire agreement “will protect” Israel of the « menace » you Hezbollah.
“Encouraging news” for the President of the European Commission
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed the ceasefire, saying “a ray of hope for the entire region”. “The populations on both sides of the border want to live in real security that lasts,” she underlined in a press release, considering that the agreement was “a success for diplomacy”.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed a “very encouraging news”. “First and foremost for the Lebanese and Israelis affected by the fighting,” she pointed out. She also believes that this truce will allow Lebanon “to increase its security and internal stability thanks to the reduced influence of Hezbollah”.
For its part, the UN also welcomes this agreement but believes that this ceasefire will require a “considerable work”.
Jean-Yves Le Drian dispatched to Beirut Wednesday morning
According to our information, at the request of President Macron, Jean-Yves Le Drian, his special envoy for Lebanon, will travel to Beirut on Wednesday, November 27 in the morning for a series of consultations on the Lebanese internal situation and the repercussions of the current negotiations. with Israel. This is the eighth visit of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs to Lebanon.
Joe Biden promises “a new effort” for a ceasefire in Gaza
During a speech at the White House, the President of the United States promised a new initiative to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. “In the coming days, the United States will again lead an effort with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and other countries to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and the end of the war without Hamas in power”, Joe Biden said.
The people of Gaza “They too deserve an end to the conflict and displacement. They went through hell,” judged the 82-year-old Democrat.
He also assured that Washington remained “ready to conclude a series of historic agreements” with Saudi Arabia, covering both a security pact, a project to create a Palestinian state and a normalization of relations with Israel.
All these projects will require Israel to make choices “bold to transform its strategic advances against Iran and its allies into a coherent strategy for long-term security,” underlined Joe Biden.
Beirut and Gaza targeted by Israeli strikes
Alongside diplomatic efforts, Israeli raids intensified against supposed Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, where at least 31 people were killed on Monday according to the Health Ministry. After increasing strikes on Monday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the army on Tuesday called on residents of two of these neighborhoods to evacuate.
The Israeli army is also continuing its strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip, where eleven people were killed overnight from Monday to Tuesday, according to Civil Defense. At the start of winter, thousands of displaced people are trying with paltry means to protect themselves from the rain.
The war that has been raging since October 2023 in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas has spread to Lebanon since September, after a year of exchanges of fire on both sides of the border between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, ally of the Palestinian Islamist movement. More than 3,500 Lebanese were killed in these attacks and 15,000 others were injured, according to the latest reports. Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced in the border regions of northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
