US President Joe Biden has announced an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to end fighting in Lebanon.
“Effective at 04:00 tomorrow local time (02:00 GMT on Wednesday), the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end,” Biden said.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that his government would “respond forcefully to any violation” of the deal.
There has been no response from Hezbollah – the Iran-backed armed group which had been trading fire with Israel since October 2023. The fighting escalated in late September when Israel dramatically intensified bombardments and launched a limited ground invasion.
The conflict has been Lebanon’s deadliest in decades, killing more than 3,823 people say local officials.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu said how long the ceasefire lasted would depend on what happened in Lebanon.
“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,” he said.
He also said ending the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbour, would allow the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to increase pressure on Hamas in Gaza and focus on “the Iranian threat”.
Iran-backed Hezbollah started firing rockets into Israel a day after its ally Hamas carried out a wide-ranging attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.
“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,” Netanyahu said.
