President Biden announced a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal Tuesday between Israel and terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon to end nearly 14 months of fighting, but emphasized that Israel still has the right to defend itself.
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Mr. Biden said from the Rose Garden at the White House. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed, I emphasize, will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”
Just as the deal was announced, Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes in and around Beirut. The ceasefire was set to take hold hours later.
He said over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army will take control of the territory once held by Hezbollah terrorists, and the Israeli army will withdraw from the country.
“This conflict will not be just another cycle of violence,” he said. “So the United States with the full support of France and our other allies has pledged to work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure this arrangement is fully implemented.”
He said no U.S. troops will be sent to southern Lebanon.
“Let me be clear, if Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense, consistent with international law,” he said.
He said this deal “heralds a new start for Lebanon” and helps the country regain its sovereignty.
“If fully implemented, this deal could put Lebanon on a path toward a future that’s worthy of its significant past,” he said.
The fighting has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members, in the fighting linked to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Mr. Biden also said that people in Gaza “deserve an end of the fighting and displacement” and the U.S. will work with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gazan territory.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, called the deal “a welcome development for the region” that “should increase pressure on Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement to end the fighting and destruction in the Gaza Strip, which has already claimed so many innocent lives.”
The president said the deal “brings us closer to the realizing the affirmative agenda” of his tenure as president of bringing the Middle East to a point of being “at peace and prosperous, and integrated across borders.”
“A future where Palestinians have a state of their own; one that fulfills its people’s legitimate aspirations, and one that cannot threaten Israel or harbor terrorist groups with backing from Iran. A future where Israelis and Palestinians enjoy equal measures of security, prosperity and yes, dignity,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Mr. Biden Tuesday for “the involvement of the United States in obtaining the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, and for the understanding that Israel will maintain freedom of action in its enforcement.”
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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