BEIRUT and WASHINGTON — The Israeli and Lebanese governments have accepted a US-sponsored ceasefire proposal that would see Lebanese troops deployed to southern Lebanon and Israeli troops withdraw from there over the next two months, US President Joe Biden announced today.
“Under the deal reached today, effective at 4 am tomorrow local time, the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end — will end,” Biden said in a White House address. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Biden said Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese group, “will not be allowed” to threaten Israel further.
“Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities and begin to rebuild their homes, their schools, their farms, their businesses and their very lives,” Biden said.
The US doesn’t negotiate directly with Hezbollah, but a senior Biden administration official told reporters that it has “verified … adherence by all parties in Lebanon.”
“Now, as I negotiate with leadership of the [Lebanese] government, [we’re] aware that they are also in communication with both Hezbollah and with Iran, and the expectations are clear,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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In recent months Hezbollah has been battered by Israeli strikes and intelligence operations that have killed or maimed hundreds of its members, including a majority of its senior leadership. In a brief statment on social media, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mitaki said the Lebanese government “welcomed” the ceasefire.
Biden’s comments came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was bringing a “ceasefire outline” to his cabinet for approval, but that announcement also came with a warning.
“The length of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon. With the United States’s full understanding, we maintain full freedom of military action,” Netanyahu said. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack.”
Biden said that the US and France would provide any “necessary assistance” to ensure the conditions of the ceasefire are met, but said US troops would not be deployed to Lebanon.
The ceasefire deal, according to a senior Biden administration official, dictates that the US and France will join a forum for the Israeli and Lebanese armies, and United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) to discuss alleged ceasefire and border violations. The US will now chair the mechanism, and the goal is to expedite any complaints that may arise from either side.
“I hope that Hezbollah will not violate this agreement, I also hope Israel doesn’t violate this agreement,” the official said. “And if they do, I expect the Lebanese army and the Lebanese security forces to work with this mechanism to address it directly with the Israelis on an immediate basis.”
The Biden administration has also briefed president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on the tenants of the ceasefire deal. According to the official, “they seem to be supportive” of the plan and think it is a good move for both sides.
The ceasefire deal does not apply to Gaza, where Israeli operations are ongoing and Israeli and American hostages continue to be held. Biden called for the end of that conflict and the hostages’ release.
Near the end of his remarks, Biden called on Israel to “be bold in turning tactical gains against Iran and its proxies into a coherent strategy to secure Israel’s longterm safety and advances a broader peace and prosperity in the region.”
Hezbollah Pushed Back
The announcement comes 57 days after the Israeli ground invasion of southern Lebanon and 415 days after Hezbollah joined what it called the “Gaza support” front on Oct. 8, 2023, dragging Lebanon into the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Maroun Hitti, also a retired brigadier general from the Lebanese Armed Forces, told Breaking Defense ahead of the announcement that he viewed the acceptance of a ceasefire as a defeat for Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah would have given up linking Lebanese front to Gaza support and the strategy of ‘unity of the fronts’ would have disintegrated and been crushed forever,” he said.
More broadly Ali Bakir, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, said a ceasefire could prompt existential questions about Hezbollah, especially after its leadership has been systematically devastated by Israeli operations.
“The key question is: What is the purpose of Hezbollah’s arsenal if it can neither fight Israel nor protect Hezbollah, its leaders, the Shiite community, and Lebanon, as the party has claimed for over a decade?” Bakir asked.
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