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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced plans for a ceasefire with Hizbollah, elevating hopes of an finish to the year-long hostilities between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group.
In a pre-recorded tv deal with on Tuesday, Netanyahu mentioned he would take the proposed deal to Israel’s cupboard. It should even be accredited by Lebanon’s caretaker authorities, which is because of talk about it on Wednesday.
Netanyahu mentioned the “period of the ceasefire is dependent upon what’s going to occur in Lebanon”, and that he had reached “full understandings” with the US that Israel will preserve “full army freedom of motion” within the occasion that Hizbollah violates the settlement.
“If Hizbollah violates the settlement and tries to arm itself — we’ll assault,” Netanyahu mentioned. “If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure close to the border — we’ll assault. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck with missiles — we’ll assault.”
Full particulars of the phrases of the ceasefire deal weren’t launched.
Netanyahu’s announcement got here hours after the Israeli army stepped up its bombardment of Lebanon, hitting what it mentioned have been greater than 20 Hizbollah targets in Beirut on Tuesday and issuing evacuation orders for components of the centre of the Lebanese capital.
Diplomats hope the deal will pave the best way for an finish to one of many bloodiest rounds of preventing in many years of battle between Israel and Hizbollah.
The most recent hostilities erupted final yr when Hizbollah started firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas shortly after the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 assault on Israel.
The preventing has since killed greater than 3,700 Lebanese and greater than 140 Israelis, in addition to forcing individuals from their houses on each side of the border. Greater than 1mn Lebanese and about 60,000 Israelis have been displaced.
For a lot of the previous yr, the preventing between Hizbollah and Israel was largely confined to exchanges of fireplace in a slim strip of land both facet of the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated border between the 2 international locations.
However in current months it has escalated right into a full-blown conflict, with Israel finishing up a ferocious bombardment of targets throughout Lebanon earlier than launching a floor invasion in October.
The offensive dealt a collection of devastating blows to Hizbollah, killing its longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, and damaging massive quantities of its weapons and infrastructure in addition to destroying broad swaths of the nation’s east and south.
Hizbollah and its patron Iran mentioned a lot of the final yr that they’d not comply with a ceasefire with out an finish to the conflict in Gaza, which Israel invaded after the October 7 assault.
However Hizbollah has since modified its place, and Israel’s offensive in Gaza continues.
