Israel ratifies ceasefire with Lebanon, vows to 'respond forcefully' to any breach

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his security cabinet had approved a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, vowing to "respond forcefully" to any breach of the agreement by Hezbollah.

He explained - in a speech following the end of a council meeting - that the reasons for the ceasefire are "focusing on the threat of Iran, revitalizing the army, isolating the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and separating the military arenas."

"I have repeatedly said that a good agreement is one that can be implemented, and we will implement it and return the residents of the north. The ceasefire agreement means that we will focus on the Iranian threat now," he added.

Hezbollah comment

In the first reaction by Hezbollah to the Israeli announcement, Mahmoud Qamati, the deputy head of the party’s political council, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, “We doubt Netanyahu’s commitment and we will not allow him to pass a trap with the agreement,” adding, “We must scrutinize the points that Netanyahu agreed to before the (Lebanese) government signs tomorrow.”

In turn, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the international community to "immediately implement" the ceasefire, denouncing the "hysterical" bombing that hit the capital Beirut today.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that the agreement was "in its final stages" and was the result of intense diplomatic efforts by the United States and its partners, such as France, he said.

He pointed out that the US administration has been working "for weeks and months" to implement the ceasefire plan in Lebanon, noting that calming tensions in the region could also end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli and American media sources reported that President Joe Biden will announce a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon tonight.

Small Council Meeting

On Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force launched a raid on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, without prior warning, and carried out strikes - described as the most violent since the beginning of the war - on the southern suburb.

The Israeli army announced that it attacked 180 targets in Lebanon during that day. The Israeli army radio stated that it attacked the largest number of targets identified by the Military Intelligence Division.

The Israeli army said it was extensively attacking Hezbollah military targets in Beirut and in the Litani River area in southern Lebanon.

In contrast, Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri denied - in an interview with Reuters - the presence of any Hezbollah facilities in the areas targeted by Israel in Beirut today.

For its part, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that 7 people were killed and 37 others were injured in the Israeli raid on the Nuwairi area.

The ministry also announced that 3 people were killed and 10 others were injured as a result of the Israeli raid on the Barbour area in Beirut.

The National News Agency reported that "a very violent raid was carried out by enemy warplanes, targeting a building near the Khatam al-Anbiya Mosque in al-Nuwairi in Beirut and completely destroying it," noting that the building had 4 floors and was housing displaced people.

A short while ago, Israeli Channel 12 said that the army issued an evacuation warning for buildings in 4 Beirut neighborhoods outside the southern suburb for the first time, namely Ras Beirut, Mazraa, Zqaq al-Blat, and Musaytbeh.

Israeli Army Radio reported that a final, large-scale air attack is expected in the coming hours on Hezbollah's infrastructure in the suburb.

The occupation army confirmed that it is continuing its attack on southern Lebanon, and claimed that it targeted weapons depots and military headquarters belonging to Hezbollah today.

It is noteworthy that since September 23, Israel has expanded the scope of its aggression against Lebanon, which began in October 2023, to include most areas of the country, including the capital Beirut, through air strikes, and it also began a ground invasion in the south.

The Israeli aggression resulted in a total of 3,754 deaths and 15,626 injuries, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1.4 million displaced persons, according to official Lebanese data.

Source: Agencies