Key Points
- Israel's security cabinet voted 10-1 to approve the ceasefire proposal.
- The agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon's army to deploy in the region.
- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the deal to end hostilities.
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect at 1pm AEDT on Wednesday after United States President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the US and France.
Bursts of gunfire could be heard across Beirut after the ceasefire took effect. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was celebratory, as gunfire had also been used to alert residents who may have missed evacuation warnings issued by Israel's military.
Streams of cars began heading to southern Lebanon, which borders Israel, after the ceasefire early on Wednesday, according to Reuters witnesses.
The ceasefire promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year.
Biden spoke at the White House shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. He said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and that fighting would end at 4am local time.
"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," Biden said. "What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again."
Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there, Biden said.
"Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities," he said.
Hezbollah has not formally commented on the ceasefire, but senior official Hassan Fadlallah told Lebanon's Al Jadeed TV that while it supported the extension of the Lebanese state's authority, the group would emerge from the war stronger.
"Thousands will join the resistance ... Disarming the resistance was an Israeli proposal that fell through," said Fadlallah, who is also a member of Lebanon's parliament.
Iran, which backs Hezbollah, the Palestinian group Hamas, as well as the Houthi rebels that have attacked Israel from Yemen, has not publicly commented on the ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media platform X that the deal was "the culmination of efforts undertaken for many months with the Israeli and Lebanese authorities, in close collaboration with the United States".
Mikati also issued a statement welcoming the deal. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdrew.
Netanyahu said he was ready to implement a ceasefire but would respond forcefully to any violation by Hezbollah.
He said there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire:
- To focus on the threat from Iran.
- Replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest.
- To isolate Hamas, the militant group that triggered war in the region when it attacked Israel from Gaza last year.
"In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action. Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively," Netanyahu said.
Hezbollah, which is allied to Hamas, was considerably weaker than it had been at the start of the conflict, he said.
"We have set it back decades, eliminated ... its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border."
Australia welcomes ceasefire
The ceasefire has been welcomed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who says it should be the catalyst for an end to conflict in the Middle East.
"We've been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza for over 11 months now, and we see every week the death toll rising, more children, more women," she told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
"But today, we are very pleased to see that there is a ceasefire with Hezbollah and that the people of Lebanon and Israel can know some peace."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has outlined a ceasefire plan, highlighting three key benefits that would allow the Israeli military to focus on defeating Hamas. Source: Getty / Ed Ram
Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since going on the offensive against the group in September, and other top commanders and pounding areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway.
Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed in Lebanon, and over one million have been forced from their homes, according to Lebanon's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.
