Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon takes effect

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"I recognize this is a tall order," Shehadeh said in an interview with Chris Brown in Beirut.

He said the militant group is not making the south safer.

"Hezbollah is not only unable to protect the community it claims to protect … but in fact it's doing quite the opposite: it is causing damage and destruction."

The Times of Israel newspaper quotes Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid as saying, "This is not the first time the promises of this government have come crashing down on the ground of reality."

"The fighting in Lebanon can finish only in one way: removing the threat to the northern communities permanently. This will no longer happen in this government; we will do it in the next government." 

Mayors of northern Israeli communities are also unhappy after their citizens have once again come under bombardment by Hezbollah. 

David Azoulay, mayor of Metula, a stone's throw from the Lebanese border, was quoted as saying residents of his community "feel betrayed once again."

"The fact that it is the president of the United States who is the one announcing a ceasefire only highlights how disconnected the prime minister of Israel is from the people and from the reality of the residents of the north," Azoulay said, and called on Netanyahu to "provide security to the citizens of the state."

I'm reporting from Jerusalem tonight. Here's the latest from the Telegram channel feed of the Israel Defence Forces: "The IDF is currently striking launchers from which the Hezbollah terrorist organization launched rockets toward northern Israel a short while ago."

Earlier, the IDF said it was "preparing for the possibility of fire from Lebanon with a focus on northern Israel, following the recent developments" and that "the IDF is conducting ongoing situational assessments."

Civilians in northern Israel have also been posting to Telegram, reporting air raid sirens in many parts of the region and showing videos of apparent missile interceptions over their communities.

The first of the six points in the text provided by the state department says the 10-day ceasefire is "a gesture of goodwill by the Government of Israel" to enable talks toward a permanent peace agreement with Lebanon. 

The ceasefire can be extended by mutual agreement if there's progress in those talks and if Lebanon "effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty," an apparent reference to whether the Lebanese government can keep Hezbollah in check. 

"Both countries recognize the significant challenges faced by the Lebanese state from non-state armed groups, which undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and threaten regional stability," says the preamble to the six points. 

The U.S. State Department has provided some of the fine print of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. 

The text says Israel "will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets, in the territory of Lebanon by land, air, and sea." 

It also says Israel can "take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks." 

As for Lebanon's side of the deal, the text says its government "will take meaningful steps to prevent Hezbollah and all other rogue non-state armed groups in the territory of Lebanon from carrying out any attacks, operations, or hostile activities against Israeli targets." 

Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will meet face to face for the first time in 44 years.

"It's very exciting. I think we're going to have a deal," he told reporters.  

"They're probably going to do it at the White House," Trump said, "over the next week or two."  

Asked whether Hezbollah would be part of such a deal, Trump said Lebanon would be "working on Hezbollah," but added, "We'll have an agreement between Israel, very importantly, and Lebanon." 

Trump is speaking to reporters outside the White House, where he is about to depart for an event in Las Vegas. 

He said he had "a great talk" with both Netanyahu and Aoun today. "They're going to be having a ceasefire, and that will include Hezbollah," Trump said.

As in his initial social media post, the president did not provide details on specific terms or details of the truce other than repeating its 10-day duration.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the 10-day truce because he sees an opportunity to make progress on a longer-term peace agreement with Lebanon. He said Israel's key demand is still to see Hezbollah dismantled.

He also said Israeli military personnel will stay in Lebanon in a "security zone" between the country's coast and its shared border with Syria.

In its first comment after Trump's announcement, Hezbollah said any ceasefire must not allow Israel freedom of movement within Lebanon. In a statement issued by its media office, the group said the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory granted Lebanon and its people the "right to resist."

Tehran and Hezbollah's alliance dates back to the militia's inception more than 40 years ago. 

Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provided funds and training to help Hezbollah establish itself in the wake of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, seeing it as an opportunity to expand Tehran's influence in Arab states, according to a backgrounder prepared by the Council on Foreign Relations. 

To date, Iran remains Hezbollah's largest benefactor. 

A 2022 report from the U.S. State Department said Iran provides Hezbollah with "most of its funding, training, weapons, and explosives, as well as political, diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid."

Ideologically aligned with Iran's government, Hezbollah "has been seen as the strongest of the armed groups Tehran supports to bolster Iranian strategic objectives," says the U.S. Library of Congress. 

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