New Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire in Effect, But IDF Warns Evacuation Still in Effect

Israel attacked Beirut less than an hour before truce

At 9:00 PM EST, Tuesday, the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire officially took effect, potentially ending an ongoing Israeli invasion and repeated airstrikes which have killed thousands and displaced well over a million Lebanese civilians.

The deal was brokered by the US, and the Israeli security cabinet voted earlier today to support it. The deal proscribes a 60-day ceasefire in which Hezbollah is to move its armed assets north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese government is to deploy its army into the southern area of the country as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel, for its part, is to withdraw their ground troops from southern Lebanon, and to stop attacking Lebanese territory. If Israel sees “suspicious movements,” US officials say they are to report it to a US-led committee, which would forward the complaint to the Lebanese military. It is only after that point that Israel would be free to respond if Lebanon doesn’t act.

The immediate question must be how the ceasefire will be implemented, and when the Israeli troops will actually leave. Israeli military Avichay Adraee issued a statement after the ceasefire went into effect warning Lebanese civilians against attempting to return to their homes in the evacuation zones, saying the prohibition is still in effect. He said Israel would inform them at a later date when it is safe to return.

This doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in the ceasefire, and the continued Israeli attacks in the final hours before it came into effect added to concerns. In those last hours, Israel carried out multiple attacks on the north Lebanon border crossings into Syria, and imposed new evacuation orders on multiple southern suburbs of Beirut.

The attacks on the border crossings are noteworthy, because Israel has repeatedly attacked the main crossings through eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley leading into Qusayr throughout the war. This makes some sense, as the Bekaa Valley is a known Hezbollah haven. The northern crossings, on the other hand, lead into Syria’s coastal Tartus Province. Syrian state media reported a number of people were wounded in these attacks.

The attacks on southern Beirut seem to be Israel’s final action before the ceasefire went into effect. Israel issued evacuation orders on southern and central Beirut just two hours before the 9:00 PM ceasefire, and attacks began less than an hour before that deadline.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.