Today's Edition
JERUSALEM (The New York Times)
A cease-fire meant to end the deadliest war in decades between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah officially took effect early Wednesday, less than a day after President Joe Biden announced the deal and Israel approved its terms.
As the cease-fire took hold at 4 a.m. local time, the air-raid sirens fell silent in Israel and celebratory gunfire pierced the night sky above Beirut. Acrid smoke still clung to the skyline of the Lebanese capital, a reminder of Israel’s intense bombardment in what may have been the final hours of the war.
Lebanon’s caretaker Cabinet was expected to meet Wednesday morning to formally approve the deal. Under the agreement, Israel would gradually withdraw its forces from Lebanon over the next 60 days, and Hezbollah would not entrench itself near the Israeli border, Biden said.
The Lebanese military would send more troops to the country’s south and "take control over their own territory” again, he said. The Lebanese government is distinct from Hezbollah, which has long wielded considerable power in the country as a political party, military force and proxy for its regional backer, Iran.
The cease-fire is officially an agreement among Israel, Lebanon and mediating countries including the United States.
More than 3,800 people have been killed in the fighting, Lebanon’s bloodiest conflict since its 15-year civil war. More than 1 million others have been forced from their homes, according to Lebanese officials and the United Nations. The Lebanese government has floundered in the face of the humanitarian crisis and struggled to help those displaced by the fighting.
Israel has battered Hezbollah in recent months, killing the group’s longtime leaders and wiping out much of its weapon stockpiles.
Endorsing the deal in a televised address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that a truce would allow Israel to rebuild its weapons stockpiles while it works to isolate Hamas, the Hezbollah ally Israel is fighting in the Gaza Strip. He also said it would allow Israel to focus on the threat posed by Israel’s regional adversary, Iran.
Netanyahu and Biden also said that Israel retained the right to respond to any violation of the cease-fire by Hezbollah. But Biden expressed hope that the cease-fire was the first step toward "a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
