Washington, Nov 26 (EFE).- A 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force early Thursday in Lebanon.
The ceasefire came into effect at 4 am (02:00 GMT) local time in Lebanon following an agreement reached Tuesday in which the US and will act as guarantors.
“Under the deal reached today, effective at 4am tomorrow, local time, the fighting across the Lebanese Israeli border will end,” Biden said at the White House. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
The plan consists of three stages: an initial truce, followed by the withdrawal of the Lebanese Shiite group’s forces north of the Litani River; the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon within 60 days; and, finally, negotiations between the two countries to delimit their border, which currently corresponds to a line drawn by the UN after the 2006 war.
Fighting continued up until the ceasefire with reports of strikes on Beirut after the Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation orders for two buildings, while Hezbollah claimed to have attacked the Tel Aviv residence of the head of the Israeli air force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, with drones.
Since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on Oct. 8, 2023, nmore than 3,800 people have been killed and more than 15,800 have been injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
The vast majority of deaths, around 3,100, have occurred since the start of Israel’s massive bombing campaign on Sep. 23, which has mainly affected communities in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahieh.
The violence has forced more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes, more than half of whom have crossed the border into Syria, according to data from the Lebanese government.
Biden and ’s President Emmanuel Macron will work with both sides of the ceasefire agreement to “ensure this arrangement is fully implemented and enforced.”
After the implementation of this ceasefire, the US will seek, together with mediators from Turkey, Egypt and Qatar, to seal an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the bombings by Israeli forces in the enclave and the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
At least 11 people were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli bombardment against the Al Hurriya school, in the southern area of Gaza City, which had already been attacked at the end of September.
According to figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday, more than 44,250 people have been killed since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023. EFE
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