By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-26 18:51:42 | Updated at 2024-11-26 22:21:37
3 hours ago
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
Despite what could be a diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities raged as Israel dramatically ramped up its campaign of air strikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.
The Lebanon ceasefire agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.
Israel demands effective UN enforcement of an eventual ceasefire with Lebanon and will show “zero tolerance” toward any infraction, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
