TEL AVIV: Israel agreed late Tuesday to a ceasefire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon that could end more than a year of fighting by early Wednesday when the truce takes effect.
Even as Israel’s military bombarded Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a national television audience that he would urge his Security Cabinet ministers to approve a ceasefire, which they did a short time later.
The United States, along with France, played a key role in brokering the settlement.
At the White House, President Joe Biden called the ceasefire “a critical step … to end the violence” in the Mideast. He said that Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas militants in Gaza, “have paid a heavy price” in more than a year of fighting Israeli forces.
He said the Israeli-Hezbollah agreement “is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
But Biden warned, “Let me be clear, if Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and pose a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense consistent with international law, just like any country in facing a terrorist group pledged to that country’s destruction.”
The outgoing U.S. leader, with less than two months remaining in his four-year term, said that with Hezbollah agreeing to end its attacks on Israel, “Hamas has a choice to make. Their only way out is to release the hostages [it is holding in Gaza], including American citizens.”
“Over the coming days, the United States will make another push for Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza,” Biden said.
He said that the Israel-Hezbollah agreement showed that “peace is possible.”
Netanyahu said he favored a truce with Hezbollah so Israel could focus its attention on the broader threat Iran poses to the Jewish state, refresh its forces and supply of munitions and isolate Hamas in its ongoing fight against Israel in Gaza.
Netanyahu vowed that if Hezbollah renews its attacks on Israel or rearms itself, Israel would immediately resume its bombardment of militant sites in Lebanon.
“The length of the ceasefire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. “With the full understanding of the United States, we are preserving full military freedom of action — if Hezbollah breaks the agreement and seeks to arm itself, we will attack.”
(VOA)
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