Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he would recommend a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah to his cabinet for approval and that a vote was expected later in the day.
The war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group killed nearly 3,800 people in Lebanon over the past year and injured around 16,000 people.
“I have said repeatedly that a good deal is one that can be implemented, and we will enforce it,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.
President Biden is expected to announce later Tuesday that the United States helped secure the ceasefire in Lebanon, ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a U.S. official.
Under the terms of the agreement, a complete and permanent ceasefire would be implemented immediately. There will be 60 days for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces – a gradual withdrawal to allow Lebanese forces to mobilize and move to secure the area, but the timing of the trigger is immediate and is expected to take effect later Tuesday.
The first withdrawal of Israeli troops was to begin within the next ten days.
Hezbollah is expected to withdraw its forces and heavy weapons approximately 20 miles from the Israeli border, to the Litani River.
An official in Netanyahu’s office told CBS News on Tuesday that the prime minister had summoned the country’s security cabinet to discuss the proposal. The cabinet must approve any ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu also held meetings Tuesday in Tel Aviv with various government ministers, lawmakers and mayors of some of the northern towns that have been evacuated for months.
The Lebanese government also had to unilaterally approve the deal on Tuesday, but the U.S. official said that was expected. The ceasefire would end Lebanon’s deadliest war since the civil war, which ended in 1990.
Mr. Biden is expected to mention France during his speech Tuesday, at 2:30 p.m. ET, according to a U.S. official. The French did not help negotiate the agreement, but will participate in its implementation.
President-elect Donald Trump’s team has been informed and views the project favorably, according to the US official. Iran was also briefed, given Tehran’s support for Hezbollah – a powerful military and political entity in Lebanon that has long been designated as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel.
“We are in the final stages of reaching a ceasefire agreement for Lebanon,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Tuesday after meeting his G7 counterparts in Italy. “We’re not there yet, but I believe we’re in the final phase.”
“This has been an intensive diplomatic effort by the United States, partners like France working with Israel and with Lebanon, for many months,” Blinken said, “and if we come to the conclusion that I hope we get there very soon, that will be the case.” This will make a big difference in saving lives and livelihoods, in Lebanon and Israel. This will make a big difference in creating the conditions that will allow people to return home safely in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. “.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of its Hamas allies who started the war. war in Gaza with their terrorist attack the day before.
Israel has carried out airstrikes on alleged Hezbollah targets for months, but in September it significantly intensified its assault against the Iranian proxy group, notably by launching ground operations in southern Lebanon.
CBS News correspondent Debora Patta said the rockets were still flying both ways Tuesday, over Israel’s northern border, with Israel and Hezbollah exchanging some of their most intense fire yet, even as diplomats press for peace.
Ayal Margolin/Reuters
Under the proposed agreement, Lebanese forces and United Nations peacekeepers are expected to jointly patrol southern Lebanon to ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement. Previous reports suggested that the southern region would be monitored by a multinational committee, which would include both the United States and France.
Middle East expert Danny Citrinowicz, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said the deal looked “good on paper” but added that until it was implemented, “it would be “it’s difficult to know whether Israel can really rely on this kind of guarantee.” coming from the American administration. »
After more than a year of crossfire, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon, along with at least 60,000 people from towns and villages in northern Israel. They are all desperate to return home, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long said that the main goal of the war against Hezbollah, from his government’s point of view, is to allow them to return home.
While a deal with Hezbollah appears closer than ever, negotiations for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and the other Iranian-mandated force in the Gaza Strip, Hamas, have failed. came to nothing.
Blinken said Tuesday that de-escalating tensions in the region “can also help us end the conflict in Gaza.”
“In particular, Hamas will know that it cannot count on the opening of other fronts in the war,” he said.
Many people living in the decimated Palestinian territory are suffering from hunger and recent torrential rains have made living conditions even worse. The winter cold set in and there were reports of another Israeli strike killing around 15 people on Tuesday in Gaza City.
Arden Farhi, Debora Patta and
contributed to this report.
