A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the U.S. and
France, a rare victory for diplomacy in a region shaken by two wars for over a year.
Lebanon’s army, which is tasked with helping make sure the ceasefire holds, said in a statement on Wednesday it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country.
The military also asked that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military, which has waged war against Hezbollah on several occasions and pushed around six km (4 miles) into Lebanese territory, withdraws.
The agreement, which promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, is a major
achievement for U.S.-led diplomacy in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Biden said his administration was also pushing for an elusive ceasefire in Gaza and that it was possible that Saudi Arabia and Israel could normalize relations.
Bursts of gunfire could be heard across Lebanon’s capital Beirut after the ceasefire took effect at 0200 GMT. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was celebratory, as
gunfire had also been used to alert residents who may have missed evacuation warnings issued by Israel’s military.
Streams of cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli strikes in recent months began heading back to the area after the ceasefire, according to Reuters witnesses. Other families could be seen returning to the bombed-out southern suburbs of Beirut, carrying Hezbollah flags.
Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday shortly after Israel’s security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. He said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and that fighting would end at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”
Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days as Lebanon’s army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its
infrastructure there, Biden said.
“Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities,” he said.
With Reuters inputs
