Officials: Ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah imminent

2024-11-26 15:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli and Lebanese officials said today that Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, are close to reaching a ceasefire agreement that is expected to end the conflict in Lebanon. Israel's war cabinet will meet later today to approve the deal, paving the way for a declaration on the ceasefire by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, whose countries are expected to be part of the international commission that will oversee it. implementation of the agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet are expected to discuss on Tuesday a US-French proposal to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that would end the 14-month conflict in Lebanon.

But alongside political progress, military escalation continued on Tuesday. Israeli jets continued to bomb Beirut, including near the center of the capital, and southern Lebanon, while the Israeli army announced that its troops had reached the Litani River, a key point of the ceasefire agreement. According to the Lebanese authorities, 31 people lost their lives in these attacks. Israel issued evacuation orders to 20 settlements on the outskirts of Beirut, the biggest warning since the conflict in Lebanon intensified.

The High Representative of the European Union for Security and Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, who is participating in the meeting of the foreign ministers of the seven most developed countries in Italy, said that the commission that will supervise the implementation of the ceasefire will be chaired by The United States, while France will be its member at the request of Lebanon. He warned that the absence of a ceasefire "would destroy Lebanon."

"There is no justification for not reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon. The agreement proposed and brokered by the United States and France answers all of Israel's security concerns... No more excuses, no more additional demands. End the fighting, stop killing people and start thinking about peace" , he declared.

Lebanon's foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached on Tuesday night.

Among the issues on which there is still no agreement is Israel's request to reserve the right to act if Hezbollah violates its obligations under the agreement.
The agreement envisages the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon and obliges Hezbollah militants to withdraw within 60 days to the north, across the Litan River, located about 30 kilometers from the border between Lebanon and Israel.

According to officials, the Lebanese army will deploy 5,000 soldiers in southern Lebanon, while the United States is expected to help rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Israeli attacks.

The White House said Monday that the parties are close to a deal, and the French presidency said the talks have made significant progress.

Meanwhile, a civilian commission set up to investigate the October 7 Hamas attack said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Netanyahu is responsible for what it called "the biggest failure of Israel and in the history of this state".

According to the head of the Commission, Varda Alsheikh, the government of Israel "failed in its main task" to protect the residents of Israel./ VOA