Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet has overwhelmingly approved a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah, Netanyahu’s office said on November 26, marking a major development toward peace between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.
The move was immediately welcomed by U.S. President Joe Biden, who said it represents a fresh start for Lebanon and shows that peace is possible after nearly 14 months of cross-border fighting that forced tens of thousand of Israelis to flee and killed thousands of Lebanese.
Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the cease-fire agreement as he recommended his security cabinet adopt the plan, vowing to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal.
In the hours leading up to the meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings.
In a televised address, Netanyahu did not say how long the truce would last but noted that the length of the cease-fire “depends on what happens in Lebanon."
He added: "If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike. If they try to renew terror activities near the border, we will strike. If they launch a rocket, dig a tunnel, or bring in a truck with missiles, we will strike."
SEE ALSO: Israel's Wars In Gaza And Lebanon Fray Relations With EuropeA cease-fire would mark the first major step toward ending the violence triggered by the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Biden said that, under the deal reached between Israel and Hezbollah, the cease-fire will take effect at 4 a.m. local time on November 27. He stressed that Israel reserved the right to resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce.
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said at the White House shortly after Netanyahu announced the security cabinet approval of the truce. If any party breaks the terms of the deal, “Israel retains the right to self-defense.”
He said that over the next 60 days civilians on both sides will be able to safely return to their own communities. The deal requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon's army to deploy in the region, while Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the cease-fire and said it was a "fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon."
The cease-fire does not address the war in Gaza, but Biden said it deserves a cease-fire deal as well.
Netanyahu said Israel would now focus its efforts on Hamas militants and his top security concern, Iran.
"From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own," he said.
"We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages."
SEE ALSO: Lebanon's Armenians Face Painful Choice: Stay And Risk Death Or FleeU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that a cease-fire would save lives and livelihoods in Lebanon and in Israel.
“It will make a big difference in creating the conditions that will allow people to return to their homes safely in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon,” Blinken said at a briefing at the conclusion of a Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Fiuggi, Italy.
He said he also believed that de-escalating tension could help end the conflict in Gaza by letting Hamas know that it can’t count on other fronts opening up in the war.
“In terms of Gaza itself, I also think this can have a significant impact…. Because one of the things that Hamas has sought from day one is to get others in on the fight, to create multiple fronts, to make sure that Israel was having to fight in a whole series of different places,” Blinken said.
The war has killed at least 3,799 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
The war in Lebanon escalated after nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah.
The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas after its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.