In a 10-1 vote, the Israeli security cabinet voted today to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon. The security cabinet was originally supposed to vote at 4:00 PM local time, but the meeting was delayed several hours.
The exact terms of the deal are not public yet, but the reports are that this will be a 60-day ceasefire, during which Israel is to remove its ground troops from Lebanon. They Israelis have to report “suspicious movements” to a US-led group before taking action. This was a strong sticking point for the Israeli government, who sought a deal that specifically would not require them to cease firing on Lebanese territory.
President Biden says that the deal has been agreed to by both Israel and Hezbollah. He also said it will go into effect at 4:00 AM Wednesday Lebanon time, which is 9:00 PM Tuesday evening EST.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement centered heavily on talking up Israeli attacks on Syria, Yemen, and the Gaza Strip. He insisted Hezbollah was set back “decades,” however, citing that they’d killed “all of the leaders” and destroyed most of the group’s rocket arsenals.
Netanyahu suggested the ceasefire is only temporary, and that they will attack Lebanon forcefully if Hezbollah takes any actions they object to. He further insisted that the ceasefire was important to “focus on the Iranian threat,” to “rearm the troops,” and to “isolate” Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying the Lebanon ceasefire will help Israel in their “sacred mission” in Gaza.
His comments focused on talk of achieving a great, but non-specific military victory, and totally changing the face of the Middle East. Hezbollah and Lebanon’s government reportedly approved a ceasefire deal last week, though it is not confirmed that it is the same ceasefire deal Israel has agreed upon. At any rate, the reports indicate that a deal of some sort is imminent.
