Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants began a ceasefire on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, in a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of conflict.

Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, battered over the past two months, but no immediate violations of the ceasefire were reported.

Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the agreement, and an Israeli military spokesman, in an Arabic-language X post in the first half-hour of the ceasefire, warned evacuated residents of southern Lebanon to not head home yet, saying the military remained deployed there.

The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border.

Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance.

The ceasefire commenced at 4 a.m. Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that in recent weeks turned into all-out war.

At least 42 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities.

The ceasefire does not address the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.

There appeared to be lingering disagreement over whether Israel would have the right to strike Hezbollah if it believed the militants had violated the agreement, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted was part of the deal but which Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have rejected.

Israel launches ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israel’s security Cabinet approved the United States-France-brokered ceasefire agreement after Netanyahu presented it, his office said.

President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Biden administration spent much of this year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza but the talks repeatedly sputtered to a halt.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East without saying how, and his team linked the deal to Trump’s looming return to office.

Any halt to the fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas and exchanged direct fire with Israel on two occasions earlier this year, AP reported.

Netanyahu presented the ceasefire proposal to Cabinet ministers after a televised address in which he listed accomplishments against Israel’s enemies.

He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran.

“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack. For every violation, we will attack with might,” Netanyahu said.

The Star