The Israeli security cabinet has voted to approve a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, an Israeli official told CNN, potentially bringing an end to more than a year of cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah and months of a full-scale war that has killed thousands.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold.
For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday local time (Wednesday morning AEDT), setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
He listed a series of accomplishments against Israel’s enemies across the region in recent months. He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and would allow Israel to turn its focus to Iran — Hezbollah’s backer and Israel’s biggest threat in the region.
He vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the agreement.
“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said.
“For every violation, we will attack with might.”
It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released.
The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted.
The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing.
Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pyjamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah’s patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border.
Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the US would monitor all sides’ compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations.
Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the UN peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn’t provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
Images capture exact moment Israeli missile hits building in Beirut
“If you don’t act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel’s security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting.
He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon’s request.
