The Israeli Prime Minister announced Tuesday evening that the security cabinet had adopted a ceasefire agreement with Lebanese Hezbollah.
Israel adopted a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon on Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced. This agreement must put an end to more than a year of cross-border hostilities and nearly two months of open war in Lebanon.
US President Joe Biden welcomed the agreement and announced that it was to begin this Wednesday, at 4 a.m. local time.
But implementation remains a major question mark. “In full agreement with the United States, we maintain complete freedom of military action” in Lebanon, said Benjamin Netanyahu. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack.”
“Any violation of the ceasefire will provoke a powerful reaction”affirmed the Israeli Prime Minister, specifying that his “duration will depend on what happens in Lebanon”. This truce will allow Israel to “focus on the Iranian threat”he said again.
The agreement provides for an initial two-month cessation of fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a large area of southern Lebanon to allow the Lebanese army to deploy there, while Israeli troops must return to their side of the border.
It includes the establishment of an international committee led by the United States to monitor its implementation.
The international mediation was based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, and stipulates that only the Lebanese army and peacekeepers can be deployed to the southern border of Lebanon.
Joe Biden indicated that he hoped to move forward in the coming days on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with the release of the hostages still there.