Israel Approves Ceasefire Deal with Lebanon, Netanyahu Says Focus Now on ‘Iranian Threat’
Sudan Events – Agencies
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was ready to implement a ceasefire deal with Lebanon and would “respond forcefully to any violation” by Hezbollah.
In a television address, Netanyahu said he would put the ceasefire accord to his full cabinet later in the evening. Israeli TV reported that the more restricted security cabinet had earlier approved the deal.
“We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory,” he said.
“In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action. Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively.”
He added that there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire — to focus on the “Iranian threat”, replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest, and finally to isolate Hamas, the group that triggered war in the region when it launched an attack on Israel from Gaza last year.
He said Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and allied to Hamas, was considerably weaker than it had been at the start of the conflict.
“We have set it back decades, eliminated … its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border,” he said.
“We targeted strategic objectives across Lebanon, shaking Beirut to its core.”
“We are changing the face of the Middle East,” stated Netanyahu.
The accord was expected to take effect on Wednesday.
Israeli approval of the deal would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to four senior Lebanese sources who spoke to Reuters on Monday.
Despite the diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities raged as Israel dramatically ramped up its campaign of air strikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.
However, there was no indication that a truce in Lebanon would hasten a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in devastated Gaza, where Israel is battling Palestinian group Hamas.
The Lebanon ceasefire agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.
Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.
