Israel's Netanyahu says he backs Lebanon ceasefire deal with Hezbollah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he is asking his government to approve a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon but promised that Israel's war on Gaza would continue.
Netanyahu said Israel's attacks on Lebanon had "set Hezbollah back by decades" and it was time to focus on Gaza and "intensify" pressure on Hamas.
He also said a ceasefire in Lebanon will allow Israel to "focus on the Iranian threat" and that the truce would speed up a delayed arms shipment from the United States.
Speaking in a televised address after getting backing for the ceasefire from his security cabinet, the Israeli prime minister said he would ask all of his ministers for their approval later on Tuesday. Lebanon's parliament is expected to meet on Wednesday morning to discuss the agreement.
After Netanyahu spoke, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the international community must "act swiftly" to halt Israeli attacks "and implement an immediate ceasefire".
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However, Netanyahu's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, called the proposed ceasefire a "historic mistake" as it does not include a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
"In order to leave Lebanon, we must have our own security belt, he posted on X.
Details of the expected deal
US and Arab officials told Middle East Eye that the ceasefire would initially be for 60 days and see Israeli forces withdraw from south Lebanon. Netanyahu said the duration of the truce will depend on "what happens in Lebanon".
Hezbollah has agreed to end its armed presence along the border and move heavy weapons north of the Litani River, the sources said.
The Lebanese army is expected to deploy in south Lebanon, with at least 5,000 troops set to patrol the border area along with an existing UN peacekeeping force, which will be boosted with French soldiers.
An international committee, including the US and France, will be established to supervise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Arab and US officials told MEE the United States will deploy technical military advisers to Lebanon and provide additional funds to the Lebanese army.
Hezbollah is yet to comment on the deal. US President Joe Biden will speak later on Tuesday.
A senior US official told MEE that Israel will not be granted the right to attack Lebanon if it detects "suspicious movements".
Israel will have to report any movement it deems suspicious to the US-led international committee, which in turn will inform the Lebanese army to take the necessary action.
If the Lebanese army fails to act after receiving a complaint regarding locations south of the Litani River or in any Lebanese area, Israel will reportedly consider the agreement void and resume its attacks on Lebanon.
However, on Tuesday, Netanyahu insisted Israel will retain "complete military freedom of action" and "respond forcefully to any violation".
The agreement will also deepen the US's ongoing efforts to support and finance the Lebanese army, enabling it to extend control over all Lebanese territories.
Stepping up attacks
Over recent weeks, the US, European Union and United Nations have pushed to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into full-scale war in late September when the Israeli military launched widespread bombardment of Lebanon.
Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October but have since been met with heavy resistance by Hezbollah fighters.
Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed and over 15,600 wounded by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the majority since the end of September.
The war has also displaced over one million people in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks destroying or damaging nearly a quarter of buildings in border villages in the south.
Hezbollah's attacks have meanwhile displaced 60,000 people in northern Israel.
On Tuesday, Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon as a ceasefire neared. Beirut's southern suburbs were subjected to the widest salvo of strikes since the war began, while central areas of the Lebanese capital were also hit.
Israel's military issued expulsion orders for several heavily residential and commercial areas of central Beirut, sending residents fleeing during rush hour.
Meanwhile, the expected ceasefire was proving unpopular in Israel in the days leading up to the deal. Opposition leader Benny Gantz warned it would not deter Hezbollah, with a poll saying 55 percent of the public was against a ceasefire being reached in Lebanon.
Avigdor Liberman, a former defence minister and head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said on Tuesday the ceasefire was a "surrender to terror".
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