the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force in the country

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A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect this Wednesday, November 27, 2024 early in the morning in Lebanon, after more than a year of cross-border hostilities and two months of open war between the Israeli army and the movement. Lebanese armed forces supported by Iran. It was Benjamin Netanyahu who announced it this Tuesday evening.

The truce, valid since 4 a.m. French time, is intended to interrupt the conflict which has forced tens of thousands of people in Israel and hundreds of thousands of others in Lebanon to flee their homes.

These hostilities led to bombings on Lebanon, causing thousands of deathsand the deployment of Israeli soldiers across the border between the two countries to confront Hezbollah fighters.

60 days for the Israelis to withdraw

The pro-Iranian movement, claiming to act in support of Hamas, opened a front against Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

American President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, November 26, “a new beginning” for Lebanon and “good news” for which the United States and France had been working for weeks.

The Israeli army has 60 days to gradually withdraw from Lebanon, a senior US official said on condition of anonymity, and Hezbollah must also withdraw from the southern border with Israel.

Ceasefire perhaps temporary

Before the final Israeli green light, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the duration of the ceasefire would depend “on what happens in Lebanon”. “We maintain complete freedom of military action” in Lebanon, he added:

If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack.

The Israeli army warned residents of southern Lebanon shortly after the ceasefire came into force not to approach the positions where it remains deployed.

“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF (the Israeli army, editor's note) has ordered to evacuate or towards the IDF forces in the region,” declared army spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a message on X.

According to the Lebanese authorities, at least 3,823 people were killed in Lebanon in total since October 2023, most of which in recent weeks. Hostilities there have displaced some 900,000 people, according to the UN.

On the Israeli side, 82 soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in 13 months in clashes with Hezbollah, according to the authorities.

Some Lebanese “opposed” to such a truce

On Tuesday, residents of northern Israel interviewed by AFP said they were opposed to a ceasefire: “it would be a serious error as long as Hezbollah has not been completely eliminated,” judged Maryam Younnes, a 29 year old student.

The announcement of the agreement came after Israel on Tuesday shelled the center of Beirut and its southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, like never before since it launched a bombing campaign on September 23 targeting the movement in the neighboring country, then began ground operations in the south on September 30.

Less than an hour before the agreement came into force, at least two strikes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to images broadcast by AFPTV, shortly after calls to evacuate an area in the center of the Lebanese capital and another in its southern suburbs by the Israeli army. Tuesday evening, Hezbollah for its part said it had launched drones against “sensitive military targets” in Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah did not participate directly in the truce negotiations, instead calling on Parliament head Nabih Berri to negotiate on its behalf, and has so far not commented on the agreement.

According to Joe Biden, the truce agreement was designed to result in a permanent cessation of hostilities between the two parties.

The United States and France are watching

Under the agreement, the Lebanese army must take control of the border area on the Lebanese side, and “what remains of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed (…) to again threaten the security of Israel,” the American president said.

The United States and France must ensure that the ceasefire agreement is “implemented in its entirety,” Joe Biden and his counterpart Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement on Tuesday evening.

At the same time, the Israeli army continues its strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip, where at least 22 people were killed on Tuesday, according to Civil Defense, and where thousands of displaced people are trying to protect themselves from the rain and the cold.

Source AFP

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