Skip to main content

Lebanon: Israel and Hezbollah agree to ceasefire brokered by US and France

Israeli prime minister has vowed to continue to the war in Gaza which triggered the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024 (Fadel Itani/AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli air strike, on 26 November 2024 (Fadel Itani/AFP)
By Josephine Deeb in Beirut and Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem

A ceasefire between Israel and the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah will take effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.

"Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will deploy and take control of their own territory once again. Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt," Biden said, adding that Israel would "gradually" withdraw its forces over the same time period.

"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities."

Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Biden's remarks, but Lebanon's parliament is scheduled to meet early on Wednesday morning to discuss the agreement.

Biden also said that in the coming days, the US would turn its attention to Gaza in the hopes of brokering a truce and that Turkey would play a mediating role.

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch

Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

"Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza," he said.

Biden's remarks came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that its security cabinet approved the deal in a 10-1 vote. 

Earlier, in a televised address, Netanyahu said Israel's attacks on Lebanon had "set Hezbollah back by decades" and that it was time to focus on Gaza and "intensify" pressure on Hamas.

He also said a ceasefire in Lebanon would allow Israel to "focus on the Iranian threat" and that the truce would speed up a delayed arms shipment from the United States.

However, talks of a ceasefire deal triggered anger amongst some in Israel, with Netanyahu's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, calling the proposal a "historic mistake", as it did not include a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

"In order to leave Lebanon, we must have our own security belt, he wrote on X.

Details of the expected deal

US and Arab officials told Middle East Eye that the ceasefire would initially be for 60 days and see Israeli forces withdraw from south Lebanon. Netanyahu said the duration of the truce will depend on "what happens in Lebanon".

Hezbollah has agreed to end its armed presence along the border and move heavy weapons north of the Litani River, the sources said.

The Lebanese army is expected to deploy in south Lebanon, with at least 5,000 troops set to patrol the border area along with an existing UN peacekeeping force, which will be boosted with French soldiers.  

An international committee, including the US and France, will be established to supervise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. 

UN Resolution 1701 zone in southern Lebanon

Arab and US officials told MEE the United States will deploy technical military advisers to Lebanon and provide additional funds to the Lebanese army.

US to deepen footprint in Lebanon according to ceasefire plan
Read More »

A senior US official told MEE that Israel will not be granted the right to attack Lebanon if it detects "suspicious movements".

Israel will have to report any movement it deems suspicious to the US-led international committee, which in turn will inform the Lebanese army to take the necessary action.

If the Lebanese army fails to act after receiving a complaint regarding locations south of the Litani River or in any Lebanese area, Israel will reportedly consider the agreement void and resume its attacks on Lebanon.

However, on Tuesday, Netanyahu insisted Israel will retain "complete military freedom of action" and "respond forcefully to any violation".

The agreement will also deepen the US's ongoing efforts to support and finance the Lebanese army, enabling it to extend control over all Lebanese territories.

How it's being viewed 

The ceasefire deal has been received with mixed reactions within Israel, with the country's far-right national security minister, Ben Gvir, calling it a "historic mistake".

Israeli parliamentarian Avigdor Lieberman critiqued it, saying, “This agreement is not good because it does not require the Lebanese army and government to disarm Hezbollah.”

Israel pummels Lebanon ahead of expected ceasefire
Read More »

Ameet Makhoul, an analyst and researcher in Haifa, told Middle East Eye that the deal was Israel's admission that it could not achieve a decisive military victory.

"This might be the first rational decision acknowledging the limits of power and acknowledging that the army is exhausted, overburdened, and placing a heavy strain on soldiers, especially on the reserve forces," Makhoul said.

Makhoul said the deal was also a way to shift focus towards Syria and Iran. "There is no rush regarding Gaza. Instead, the warning to [Bashar al-]Assad and the emphasis on prioritising action against Iran may define the next phase."

The US will transition to a new government in January, with President-elect Donald Trump taking office. Makhoul said the agreement was a way to buy time, not to permanently end hostilities as Biden said, with Netanyahu "viewing the truce as a waiting period for Trump".

"Israel is betting on its plans and alliance with the United States and a mechanism to manage the situation through an active role for Centcom, a permanent presence in Lebanon, and overseeing the agreement," Makhoul added.

Stepping up attacks

Over recent weeks, the US,  European Union and United Nations have pushed to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into full-scale war in late September when the Israeli military launched widespread bombardment of Lebanon.

Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October but have since been met with heavy resistance by Hezbollah fighters.

Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed and over 15,600 wounded by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the majority since the end of September.

 

The war has also displaced over one million people in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks destroying or damaging nearly a quarter of buildings in border villages in the south. 

Hezbollah's attacks have meanwhile displaced 60,000 people in northern Israel.

On Tuesday, Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon as a ceasefire neared. Beirut's southern suburbs were subjected to the widest salvo of strikes since the war began, while central areas of the Lebanese capital were also hit.

Israel's military issued expulsion orders for several heavily residential and commercial areas of central Beirut, sending residents fleeing during rush hour.

Meanwhile, the expected ceasefire was proving unpopular in Israel in the days leading up to the deal. Opposition leader Benny Gantz warned it would not deter Hezbollah, with a poll saying 55 percent of the public was against a ceasefire being reached in Lebanon.

Avigdor Liberman, a former defence minister and head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said on Tuesday the ceasefire was a "surrender to terror".

Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.