Israel agrees ceasefire deal with Hezbollah as air strikes shake Beirut
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his security cabinet have approved a ceasefire deal by a 10-1 margin.
It’s hoped the deal, set to come into effect at 4am local time on Wednesday, will pave the way for a truce to take effect.
Minutes after the deal was agreed, the Lebanese capital of Beirut was rocked by air strikes, US President Joe Biden said.
Mr Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, saying Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah and could now focus its efforts on Hamas militants in Gaza and his top security concern, Iran.
Mr Netanyahu also vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the deal.
At least 31 people were killed in Israeli air strikes across Lebanon on Monday, hitting commercial and residential buildings in Beirut and the port city of Tyre.
Israel said it was targeting areas known as Hezbollah strongholds and had issued evacuation orders for Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Today, jets hit a residential building in central Beirut and issued new evacuation orders for 20 buildings.
It’s Israel’s most intense wave of strikes since the start of the conflict as the IDF appears to want to keep pummelling Hezbollah before the ceasefire takes hold.
Ground troops also reached parts of the Litani River for the first time – a main focal point of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile Hezbollah kept up its rocket fire, which triggered air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Earlier today, the European Union’s top diplomat said there are ‘no excuses’ for Israel to refuse to implement the ceasefire, saying all security concerned had been addressed by the deal brokered by the US and France.
Josep Borrell, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief, called for increased pressure on Israel to blunt extremists in the government who are refusing to accept the deal, and said ‘Lebanon will fall apart’ if the ceasefire is not implemented.
What is the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal?
The ceasefire deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swathe of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border.
Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides’ compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal.
Mr Biden said Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce, but that the deal ‘was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities’.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon in the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials.
The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah fire has forced around 50,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes in the north of the country.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has welcomed the announcement, calling for the ceasefire deal to be ‘a lasting political solution’.
He said: ‘Today’s long overdue ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah will provide some measure of relief to the civilian populations of Lebanon and northern Israel, who have suffered unimaginable consequences during the last few months of devastating conflict and bloodshed.
‘The UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East.
‘We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid.’
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