Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah group appear on the verge of halting terror attacks war that killed almost 3,800 people in Lebanon over the past year, leaving about 16,000 others injured. President Biden is expected to announce on Tuesday that the US and France have reached a ceasefire in Lebanon, ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a US official said.
The full and permanent ceasefire would end Lebanon’s deadliest war since the end of the civil war in 1990.
Under the deal, a full and permanent ceasefire would be implemented immediately. 60 days will be allowed for the full withdrawal of the Israeli forces – a gradual withdrawal to allow the Lebanese forces to mobilize and secure the area, but the trigger time is immediate and will take effect later Tuesday.
The first separation of Israeli forces would begin within the next ten days.
Hezbollah is expected to withdraw its forces and heavy weapons about thirty kilometers from the Israeli border, to the Litani River.
An official in Netanyahu’s office told CBS News that the prime minister had convened the country’s security cabinet to discuss the proposal. The Cabinet must approve any ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu also held meetings in Tel Aviv on Tuesday with several ministers, lawmakers and mayors of some of the northern cities that have been evacuated for months.
The Lebanese government also had to unilaterally approve the deal on Tuesday, but the US official said that was to be expected.
Netanyahu was expected to address his country at 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Eastern) on Tuesday, after which Mr. Biden would deliver remarks on the deal in Washington within a few hours, according to his office.
Mr Biden is expected to mention France when he speaks, according to a US official. The French did not negotiate the deal, but will be part of its implementation.
President-elect Donald Trump’s team has been informed and is positive about the plan, the US official said. Iran has also been informed, as Hezbollah is its proxy force.
Hezbollah, a powerful military and political entity in Lebanon that has long been designated a terrorist group by both the US and Israel, began firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of its Hamas allies who instigated the terrorist movement. war in Gaza with their terror attack the previous day.
Israel carried out airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah targets for months, but this happened in September escalated his attack dramatically on the Iranian proxy group, including by launching ground operations in southern Lebanon.
CBS News correspondent Debora Patta said missiles were still flying in both directions across Israel’s northern border on Tuesday, with Israel and Hezbollah exchanging some of the heaviest gunfire yet, even as diplomats push for peace.
Ayal Margolin/REUTERS
Under the proposed agreement, the Lebanese Armed 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 controlled by a multinational committee that would include both the US 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 difficult to know whether Israel can really build on these types of guarantees. from the US government.”
After more than a year of crossfire, more than 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon, along with at least 60,000 from towns and villages in northern Israel. They are all eager to get home, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long said that the main purpose of the war with Hezbollah, from his government’s perspective, has been to enable them to do so.
While a deal with Hezbollah seemed closer than ever, negotiations for a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, Iran’s other proxy force in the Gaza Strip, have gone nowhere.
Many in the decimated Palestinian territory are suffering from hunger, and recent rains have further worsened living conditions there. A winter chill has set in and there were reports of another Israeli attack that killed around 15 people in Gaza City on Tuesday.
Arden Farhi and Debora Patta contributed to this report.
