Biden confirms Israel-Hezbollah ‘ceasefire deal agreed’

An over a year long war finally is coming to an end between Israel and Hezbollah as both parties agreed a ‘ceasefire deal agreed’, US President Joe Biden confirmed Wednesday.

“Effective at 04:00 tomorrow local time (02:00 GMT on Wednesday), the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end,” President Biden said.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not hesitate to strike if Hezbollah breaks any part of the agreed deal.

“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,” Netanyahu said.

At the moment, Hezbollah declined to comment on the development.

Fighting escalated in late September when Israel intensified bombardments and launched a limited ground invasion.

About 3,823 people were killed during the Lebanon’s deadliest conflict in decades.

The ceasefire started overnight on Wednesday as planned.

Moreover, Israel issued evacuation orders for parts of Beirut four hours before the ceasefire deadline, striking shortly before the deadline.

Hezbollah also fired drones into Israel in the hours before fighting stopped.

Under the deal announced on Tuesday, there will be a 60-day period during which Israel will gradually withdraw its troops from Lebanon’s south as Lebanese government forces regain control of an area currently held by Hezbollah.

It is expected that Hezbollah fighters and weapons will be removed from the area south of the Litani River, a boundary established at the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.