If it holds, the ceasefire would end nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which degenerated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to draw in Iran, Hezbollah’s patron. , and Israel in a wider conflagration.
It could provide some respite for the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled their homes along the border with Lebanon.
The U.S.-French-brokered deal, approved by Israel late Tuesday, provides for an initial two-month cessation of fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops must return to their side of the border.
Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers will be deployed to the south, and a U.S.-led international committee will monitor compliance with the deal.
Israel says it reserves the right to attack Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the agreement.
The deal, however, does not resolve the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is still fighting Hamas militants in response to the group’s cross-border raid in southern Israel in October 2023. But President Joe Biden has said Tuesday that his administration would make a new effort in the coming days to try to reach an agreement.
Lebanese flock to the south
Hours before the ceasefire took effect, Israel launched widespread strikes that shook the Lebanese capital Beirut and a volley of Hezbollah rockets set off air-warning sirens across much of northern Lebanon. ‘Israel.
But after the ceasefire began early Wednesday, calm seemed to settle in, prompting waves of Lebanese to return home.
Israeli Arabic-language military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned displaced Lebanese not to return to their villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said forces opened fire to repel vehicles entering a prohibited area.
The Lebanese army has asked the displaced to avoid villages and towns near the border until Israeli troops withdraw.
Videos circulating on social media show displaced Lebanese defying these calls and returning to southern villages near the coastal city of Tyre. Israeli troops were still present in parts of southern Lebanon after Israel launched a ground invasion in October.
On the highway linking Beirut to southern Lebanon, thousands of people drove south with their belongings and mattresses strapped to the top of their cars. Traffic was blocked at the northern entrance to the port city of Sidon.
Residents will recall the vast destruction caused by the Israeli army during its campaign, which razed villages where the army said it found large caches of weapons and infrastructure it said was intended to launch an attack on type of that of October 7 on northern Israel.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon over the past 13 months, including many civilians, according to Lebanese health authorities.
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