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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told local outlets on Thursday that the US-brokered ceasefire agreed last evening between Lebanon and Israel could come into force within 24 hours if all parties involved approve it.
The comments appeared to refer to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which has not been clear about the ceasefire announced after talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington. .
Hezbollah – an Iran-backed group that is considered a terrorist entity in several countries, including Canada – opposes direct talks and has continued to fire on Israeli forces in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on the deal. It wanted Lebanon to stop negotiations.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the army will continue to attack Lebanon for now and will not withdraw from the south.
On the same day, Israel launched several airstrikes in southern Lebanon, security sources said. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that a drone exploded on a motorcycle, killing one person and injuring another. A drone buzzed over Beirut.
A peacekeeper was killed and 2 others were injured
The UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said a UN peacekeeper was killed on Thursday after mortar shells hit his compound near Marjayoun in south-eastern Lebanon. UNIFIL, which did not disclose where the shells came from, said two other peacekeepers were injured and has opened an investigation into the incident.
The Israeli military, warning residents of the south, said it was continuing to target Hezbollah facilities.
The war has continued despite repeated cease-fire declarations from Washington since April. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on March 2, when the group opened fire in support of Tehran as it was attacked by the US-Israel.
War has become a sticking point for diplomacy in regional conflict resolution. Tehran, whose Revolutionary Guards founded Hezbollah in 1982, wants an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon as part of any deal. Tehran has suggested in recent days that it could intervene directly in support of its proxy Hezbollah if Israel continues or escalates attacks there.
A statement issued by the US State Department said that the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is dependent on Hezbollah’s complete cessation of fire, and the withdrawal of its personnel from the area between the border and the Litani River.
In his statement, Katz said that the Israeli army will remain in the security area, including the Beaufort castle area, which was captured by the Israeli army over the weekend, “and without the return of the people,” Katz added. Israel will “continue to fire and work on the ground for now.”
The Israeli campaign has forced about 1.2 million people to flee their homes, including hundreds of thousands from southern Lebanon, Lebanese authorities and UN agencies said.
As Israel and Hezbollah trade off, the Lebanese government is vowing to get rid of Iran-backed militias and a political party – but is it possible? Nationally, CBC’s Chris Brown takes a closer look at what it would take to disarm Hezbollah and why it hasn’t happened yet.
Netanyahu’s security minister criticizes the deal
Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called the suspension a “huge mistake” and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should bring it to the cabinet for a vote.
Ben-Gvir said that Hezbollah will not withdraw its forces from the area south of the Litani River and the Lebanese Armed Forces could not force Hezbollah to do so.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said Israel would not attack Beirut after Netanyahu said he had ordered strikes on southern areas controlled by Hezbollah.
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That announcement drew criticism from Netanyahu’s political opponents, as well as some of his allies, that the prime minister had abandoned the monarchy.
Katz said Israel will continue to “dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the area” while Israel “has the freedom to act, with the support of the United States, to strike in Beirut for attacks on Israeli communities and territories.”
Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, called the agreement made by the US “a very historic moment for Lebanon.”
The joint statement said Lebanon and Israel agreed to “immediately advance the construction of checkpoints where the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the area excluding all non-state actors.”
Lebanese troops have been deployed in the south as part of a ceasefire agreement agreed in November 2024 to end the latest Hezbollah-Israel war, and announced in January that it had established control over the area between the border and Litani.
