After 14 months of fighting, Israel and Lebanon have brokered a ceasefire, taking effect on Wednesday, November 27. The agreement was brokered by President Biden earlier in the week. Despite the tentative ceasefire, Israel has yet to lift the curfew in effect for Lebanese citizens. It has warned evacuated residents of the southern region that it is not yet safe to return home. In a post to X, a spokesperson for the Israeli military warned that they are posed to strike if Hezbollah breaks their agreement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israel has the right to strike in retaliation if they suspect militants have violated the agreement. However, Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have rejected this part of the agreement.
“We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state,” Hezbollah’s political council, Mahmoud Qamati, said of the agreement. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.”
The conditions of the ceasefire call for two months of peace and require armed Hezbollah militants to leave southern Lebanon. Israeli troops are also ordered to return to their side of the border. An international panel led by the United States monitors compliance orders.
The ceasefire came just hours after Israel’s largest airstrike in Beirut, which killed 42. The agreement comes amid growing concerns that Israel could escalate war and draw Iran into the conflict, with this new agreement that appears less likely. Iran has backed both Lebanon and Gaza in the fight against Israel and even exchanged direct fire on two separate occasions this year.
The agreement does not extend to the ongoing war in Gaza. Hezbollah began firing into Israel on October 8, 2023, just one day after Hamas attacked the country, taking hostages.
Hezbollah defends the attacks as actions of solidarity with Palestine. According to Lebanese officials, 3,760 people have been killed in Israel in Lebanon in the last 13 months. Many of them were civilians. Lebanese forces have killed at least 75 Israelis, and 50,000 have been forced to evacuate due to the war.
