The ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese-based armed group Hezbollah, brokered by the US and France, went into effect at 4 am local time on Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of violations.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichay Adraee told reporters that the Israeli troops would remain in southern Lebanon for the time being. He warned Israelis who fled the border towns due to Hezbollah rocket fire that it is not safe to return yet.
The fighting between Hezbollah and the erupted in October 2023, when the pro-Palestinian armed group began firing rockets and mortar shells across the border. Hezbollah said at the time that it would not end hostilities until the IDF stopped their war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel eventually invaded southern Lebanon in early October and stepped up airstrikes on Beirut and other cities, killing several high-ranking Hezbollah members, including the group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
More than 60 people have been killed in Israel from Hezbollah attacks and more than 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon since October 2023, according to officials from both sides. Some 70,000 people in Israel and around 1.2 million people in Lebanon were displaced.
Announcing the ceasefire on Tuesday, outgoing US President Joe Biden said that Israel would “gradually withdraw its remaining forces” from Lebanon within the next 60 days.
“Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt,” he stated. According to Biden, the truce is intended to be permanent.
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