By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-27 22:46:15 | Updated at 2024-11-28 00:23:37
1 hour ago
CV NEWS FEED // President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah Nov. 26, marking an end to more than a year of conflict along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Speaking from the Rose Garden, Biden described the agreement, brokered by the U.S. and France, as a “permanent cessation of hostilities.” The ceasefire was set to take effect at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday, according to Politico.
“The fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end,” Biden emphasized.
He affirmed that while Israel retains the right to self-defense if the agreement is breached, the deal requires the Lebanese army to assume control of southern Lebanon, prohibiting Hezbollah from rebuilding its infrastructure. Israeli forces are expected to withdraw within 60 days.
While the agreement is a significant milestone, Biden acknowledged it is not the broader peace deal he hopes to secure during his presidency. He reiterated his commitment to achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, noting the devastating toll that civilians have suffered.
“The people of Gaza have been through hell,” Biden said, accusing Hamas of negotiating in bad faith. He called on Hamas to release hostages, including Americans, as a necessary step to end the conflict and facilitate humanitarian aid.
Politico reported that U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism that the Lebanon ceasefire might pressure Hamas to consider a similar agreement in Gaza. One administration official suggested the deal isolates Hamas further, undermining their hope of sparking a broader regional conflict.
“This deal fundamentally makes clear that broader regional support for Hamas is unlikely,” the official said, according to Politico. Another noted that Hezbollah’s decision to distance itself from the Gaza conflict could shift Hamas’ posture in negotiations.
The Detroit News reported that Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has expressed cautious optimism about the recently brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, while emphasizing its limitations in addressing the broader Middle Eastern conflict.
The ceasefire, facilitated by the U.S. and France, halts nearly 14 months of hostilities and requires Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon, with Israeli troops returning to their side of the border.
However, Hammoud highlighted the ongoing devastation in Gaza, stating on X, “Any ceasefire remains incomplete without an end to the genocide in Palestine. As long as occupation and apartheid persist, true justice and lasting peace will remain out of reach.”
The conflict has deeply impacted Metro Detroit, home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the U.S. Local leaders noted the humanitarian toll of the fighting, with thousands killed and millions displaced. The MENA Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn expressed gratitude to President-elect Donald Trump for his role behind the scenes in facilitating the ceasefire, following their earlier appeal for U.S. intervention to halt violence in Lebanon and Gaza.
The ceasefire in Lebanon comes against a backdrop of widespread destruction and displacement. As CatholicVote has reported, testimony from the Pontifical Mission, part of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), provides insight into the dire humanitarian situation in Lebanon. Michel Constantin, CNEWA’s regional director for Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt, described the devastation faced by Christian communities in southern Lebanon during a recent Pontifical Mission online webinar.
“Already 25% of buildings, residential buildings, schools, churches, or mosques, have been wiped out, have been destroyed completely,” Constantin reported in the webinar. He explained that 90% of the population in the south has fled, with many displaced to Mount Lebanon and Beirut.
Villages like Deir el Ahmar, a Christian hub, have seen their populations swell as they take in thousands of displaced individuals. “One family is hosting now 20 persons, like two, three families in their homes,” Constantin noted, underscoring the strain on local communities already grappling with Lebanon’s economic crisis.
Displaced families often receive only minutes’ warning before their homes are destroyed, forcing them to flee with nothing.
“The Israeli port parole of the Israeli army would warn the people of one quarter of one village to leave immediately,” he said. “Sometimes he gave them only 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, they were still on the road, leaving, and they saw their houses and the whole village destroyed completely.”
“We have seen people in pajamas on the street,” Constantin said, recounting harrowing stories of elderly residents unable to escape in time, left to perish in their homes. The destruction has extended beyond Christian areas to include Shiite, Sunni, and Druze communities, further exacerbating tensions among Lebanon’s diverse populations.
CNEWA and other Catholic organizations have mobilized to provide food, fuel, and support to displaced families, particularly those seeking shelter in church institutions. However, the scale of the crisis was overwhelming, with entire villages along the border already wiped out. The Lebanon ceasefire offers a glimmer of hope, but the broader conflict continues to exact a devastating toll on civilians across the region.
