Israeli PM recommends cabinet to approve Lebanon ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday recommended his Cabinet approve a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hizbollah, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

In the hours leading up to the Cabinet meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings.

At least 23 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signalled it aims to keep pummelling Hizbollah in the final hours before any ceasefire takes hold.

A ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, but neither he nor Netanyahu have proposed a postwar solution for the Palestinian territory, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.

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

In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire proposal to Cabinet ministers later Tuesday, when they are expected to vote on it.

He listed a series of accomplishments against Israel’s enemies across the region and said a ceasefire with Hizbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran, which backs both groups.

"If Hizbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said.

"For every violation, we will attack with might.”

It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released.

The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would 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 all sides’ compliance.

But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal.

Hizbollah has said it accepts the proposal, but a senior official with the group said on Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form.

"After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hizbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network.

"We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. "Any violation of sovereignty is refused.”

Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hizbollah’s military capabilities.

An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta - the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown.

At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Israel also struck a building in the bustling commercial district of Hamra for the first time, hitting a site that is around 400 meters from Lebanon's Central Bank. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hizbollah fighters and their infrastructure.

The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted.

The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them.

Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.

Hizbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hizbollah has a major presence, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, is headquartered.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.

The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hizbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometers from the Israeli border.

Under the ceasefire deal, Hizbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers north of the border.

Associated Press