Israel, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire deal in Lebanon to halt more than a year of fighting

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces agreed to a ceasefire Tuesday in a deal brokered by the U.S. and France that could bring to an end more than a year’s worth of heavy fighting along the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Under the deal, all fighting between Israel and the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement was to cease early Wednesday, President Biden said in remarks from the White House. He spoke just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the agreement in a nationally televised address. Over the next 60 days, Israel will start to withdraw its troops from the region as Lebanon’s army moves in to assume control.

Mr. Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials said punishing strikes in recent months had effectively decapitated Hezbollah and significantly weakened its force as a military threat to Israel.

“This is not the same Hezbollah. Hezbollah chose to attack us from there on Oct. 8. We set it back decades,” Mr. Netanyahu said in his address. “We eliminated [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah. We eliminated all the senior officials of the organization and thousands of terrorists.”

Mr. Biden said he hoped the 60-day accord would turn into a permanent halt to the war: “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.

“This conflict will not be just another cycle of violence,” the president added. “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.”

The deal between Hezbollah and Israel does not affect the fight in the Gaza Strip with Palestinian Hamas militants. Months of U.S. efforts to negotiate a ceasefire with the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas have failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Hezbollah began launching rockets and missiles at Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas launched its surprise rampage from the Gaza Strip. The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 3,500 people and displaced thousands along both sides of the border. Palestinian authorities say more than 44,000 Gaza civilians and militants have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign.

The events Tuesday marked a rare day of progress for the Biden administration negotiators, who have struggled to keep the fighting from escalating into a full-blown regional war, perhaps drawing Iran and its regional allies into the fight against Israel.

The Israeli Cabinet vote was reportedly 10-1 in favor of the agreement. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was the lone dissenter, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said.

One sticking point was uncertain: Israel’s demand that it be allowed to resume the military campaign if the ceasefire does not hold. The length of the ceasefire depends entirely on what happens in Lebanon, and Israel maintains complete freedom of military action, the prime minister said.

“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack.”

Mr. Biden appeared to endorse that interpretation. “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.

A top Hezbollah official told the Al Jazeera network that the group had accepted the deal but was awaiting the final draft.

“After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told Al Jazeera, The Associated Press reported.

“We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state,” he said, referring to Israel’s demand for freedom of action. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati thanked the U.S. and French governments for their mediation efforts in a series of posts on social media. Repeated Israeli airstrikes have pummeled Beirut since the conflict escalated this year.

Mr. Mikati said he hoped the deal would prove a “fundamental step towards restoring calm and stability in Lebanon and enabling displaced persons to return to their towns and cities.”

The Middle East fighting has been a political albatross for Mr. Biden, who has clashed repeatedly with Israel over its handling of the conflicts in the region. At home, his Democratic base is divided between those who think he has not stood up forcefully for Israel and those who say he has failed to protect the beleaguered Palestinian and Arab civilian populations caught up in the fighting.

Asked by a reporter whether he thought an elusive Israeli-Hamas ceasefire deal could be struck before he leaves office in January, Mr. Biden replied, “I think so. I hope so. I’m praying.”

Assessing the deal

Ruthie Blum, a writer and former adviser in Mr. Netanyahu’s office, said she was initially wary of the ceasefire agreement. She said she thought the momentum was clearly in Israel’s favor and that the Biden administration was pushing the ceasefire during its last few months in office.

“This is the time for the enemy to beg you to stop. It’s not the time to make a deal,” Ms. Blum said in an interview with The Washington Times. “I also thought it gave a bad message. Hezbollah has already bragged that this is a sign that we are basically surrendering.”

She said her concerns were mitigated after Mr. Netanyahu explained why a ceasefire in Lebanon is in Israel’s best interest.

Israelis “have to focus on Iran,” she said. “We also have to give our exhausted troops a rest while we replenish the supplies.”

A ceasefire with Hezbollah will allow Israel to focus on the threat from Iran, which has been a heavy financial and military backer of Hezbollah and Hamas, Mr. Netanyahu said.

“We will complete the elimination of Hamas, the return of all the hostages, and the return of the residents of the north,” he said.

The U.S. is expected to play a significant role in guaranteeing Israel’s security along its northern border with Lebanon as part of the agreement. Israel’s Ynetnews reported that a U.S.-led international enforcement committee would oversee compliance with the agreement, including the withdrawal of Israeli ground troops from southern Lebanon within 60 days.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s forces would retreat north of the Litani River in Lebanon, and troops from the largely sidelined regular Lebanese armed forces would take up positions replacing them.

Ms. Blum said border residents displaced by the fighting had demonstrated against the ceasefire. She said they don’t trust Lebanon’s military or the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the region to keep Hezbollah north of the Litani River and away from the border.

“They looked the other way all these years. Hezbollah amassed weapons right under their noses,” she said. “In the best case, [Lebanon’s army] will be totally ineffectual. In the worst case, they’ll help Hezbollah rearm.”

A Pentagon official said U.S. military offices were “strongly supportive” of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

“We’re consulting closely with our interagency partners in terms of what potential contributions the [Defense Department] can make,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. “This is something that [Defense Secretary Lloyd] Austin has talked about quite a bit. We’ve seen diplomatic means as key to enabling both Lebanese and Israeli citizens to return to their homes on both sides.”

Paul Salem, vice president for international engagement at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said the expected pause in fighting was rare good news for Lebanon.

“A ceasefire is desperately needed in Lebanon, first to enable 1.2 million displaced people to return to their homes, but also to organize the large-scale humanitarian and reconstruction aid that will be necessary to render their towns and villages habitable again,” he wrote in a commentary.

“Lebanon has been without a president and functioning government for two years. The ceasefire could create the conditions for moving ahead with holding presidential elections, forming a government, and beginning to address Lebanon’s vast and urgent domestic needs.”

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.