President Biden announces ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
President Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. helped secure a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, which would end fighting between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
His announcement came as Israel's Cabinet approved the ceasefire after urging from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The war between Israel and the Iran-backed group has killed almost 3,800 people in Lebanon over the last year and left about 16,000 others wounded.
"Today, I have some good news to report from the Middle East," Mr. Biden said on the White House South Lawn. "I just spoke with the prime minister of Israel and Lebanon. I'm pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United States' proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. I want to thank President Macron of France for his partnership in reaching this moment."
Under the deal reached, the ceasefire will be effective as of 4 a.m. Wednesday local time and fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border "will end," Mr. Biden said. But as Mr. Biden noted, the ceasefire does not apply to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.
"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," he added. "What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed, I emphasize, will not be allowed, to threaten the security of Israel ever again."
Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese Army and state security forces will take control once again, he said, and Israel will gradually withdraw its remaining forces. Since the war with Hezbollah began, over 70,000 Israelis have been "forced to live as refugees in their own country," Mr. Biden said, and over 300,000 Lebanese people have also been forced from their homes.
"Let's be clear," Mr. Biden said. "Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not seek that war either, nor did the United States."
Echoing remarks from earlier from Netanyahu, Mr. Biden said if Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense.
Netanyahu said earlier Tuesday that the war Cabinet had approved the ceasefire, and he urged ministers in the full Cabinet to approve the deal on Tuesday night. He did not give specifics, but he said if Hezbollah breaks the terms, Israel will "respond severely."
Netanyahu said the war Cabinet had approved the ceasefire, and he urged ministers in the full Cabinet to approve the deal on Tuesday night. He did not give specifics, but he said if Hezbollah breaks the terms, Israel will "respond severely."
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati posted on social media calling for the international community to "implement an immediate ceasefire."
U.S. Defense Department spokesperson Patrick Ryder said Tuesday that "we are certainly very supportive of the ceasefire."
Under the deal, a full and permanent ceasefire would be implemented immediately. There will be 60 days permitted for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces — a gradual withdrawal to allow the Lebanese forces to mobilize and move in to secure the area, but the trigger time is immediate, set to take effect later Tuesday.
The first peel-off of Israeli troops was to begin within the next 10 days.
Hezbollah is expected to pull its forces and heavy weapons back about 20 miles from the Israeli border, to the Litani River.
An official in Netanyahu's office told CBS News earlier Tuesday that the prime minister had convened the country's security cabinet to discuss the proposal. The cabinet must approve any ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu was also holding meetings Tuesday in Tel Aviv with various government ministers, lawmakers and mayors from some of the northern towns that have been evacuated for months.
Lebanon's government also had to unilaterally approve the deal on Tuesday, but the U.S. official said that was expected. The ceasefire would end the deadliest war in Lebanon since its civil war, which ended in 1990.
Mr. Biden is expected to mention France when he speaks on Tuesday, at 2:30 p.m. ET, according to a U.S. official. The French did not help negotiate the deal, but will be part of its implementation.
President-elect Donald Trump's team has been briefed and looks upon the plan favorably, according to the U.S. official. Iran has also been briefed, given Tehran's support of Hezbollah — a powerful military and political entity in Lebanon that has long been designated a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Israel.
"We are in the final stages of securing a ceasefire agreement for Lebanon," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday after meeting with G7 counterparts in Italy. "We are not there yet, but I believe we are in the final stages."
"This has been an intensive diplomatic effort by the United States, partners like France working with Israel, working with Lebanon, over many months," Blinken said, "and if we get to the conclusion that I hope we reach very soon, it will make a big difference. It will make a big difference in saving lives and livelihoods, in Lebanon and in Israel. It will make a big difference in creating the conditions that will allow people to return to their homes safely in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon."
Hezbollah started firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of its Hamas allies who sparked the war in Gaza with their terror attack the previous day.
Israel carried out airstrikes on purported Hezbollah targets for months, but in September it dramatically escalated its assault on the Iranian proxy group, including by launching ground operations in the south of Lebanon.
CBS News correspondent Debora Patta said rockets were still flying in both directions over Israel's northern border on Tuesday, with Israel and Hezbollah trading some of their heaviest fire to date, even as diplomats push for peace.
Under the proposed deal, Lebanese forces and United Nations peacekeepers are expected to jointly patrol southern Lebanon to ensure the terms of the agreement are adhered to. Earlier reports suggested the southern region would be monitored by a multi-nation committee, which would include both the U.S. and France.
Middle East expert Danny Citrinowicz, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said the deal looked "good on paper," but added that until it was implemented, "it would be hard to know whether Israel can really build on these kind of guarantees coming from the U.S. administration."
After more than a year of crossfire, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon, along with at least 60,000 from towns and villages in northern Israel. They're all desperate to go home, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long said the chief objective of the war with Hezbollah, from his government's standpoint, has been to enable them to do so.
While a deal with Hezbollah appeared closer than ever, negotiations for a ceasefire in Israel's war with Iran's other proxy force in the Gaza Strip, Hamas – have gone nowhere.
Blinken said Tuesday that de-escalating tensions in the region "can also help us to end the conflict in Gaza."
"In particular Hamas will know it can't count on other fronts opening up in the war," he said.
Many in the decimated Palestinian territory are hungry, and recent rainstorms have made living conditions there even worse. A winter chill has set in, and there were reports of a fresh Israeli strike killing about 15 people Tuesday in Gaza City.