Biden’s announcement came after Israel’s Cabinet approved the cease-fire agreement. Before the deal was struck Israel launched waves of attacks in Lebanon.
Israel’s security cabinet greenlights truce agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group Israeli warplanes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs ahead of the cabinet’s truce decision Evacuation warnings issued in central Beirut for the first time Israel says will act ‘forcefully’ if Lebanon deal breached
Here are the latest developments in the crisis in Israel, Lebanon, Gaza and other parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, November 26:
Biden announces cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah
US President Joe Biden announced that a cease-fire has been reached between Israel and Hezbollah militants.
He said fighting across the border will end at 4 a.m. Lebanon time
Biden spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the truce.
“The length of the cease-fire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said.
The Lebanese Cabinet, that includes members of Hezbollah’s political wing, will reportedly meet on Wednesday to formally approve it.
Israelis divided over truce, poll finds
The Times of Israel reports a snap poll by Israel’s Channel 12 indicates that Israelis are split on the proposed cease-fire with Hezbollah.
When asked about their stance on the arrangement, 37% expressed support, 32% opposed it, and 31% were undecided.
The poll further reveals a stark contrast in opinions among political lines.
Among supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, only 20% back the deal, while 45% oppose it and 35% remain uncertain.
In contrast, 50% of opposition voters support the cease-fire agreement.
Israel’s national security minister opposes the truce
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he opposed the cease-fire deal with Hezbollah, describing it as a “historic mistake.”
The agreement does not ensure the return of Israelis to their homes in the country’s north, he said on social media.
“In order to leave Lebanon, we must have our own security belt,” Ben-Gvir added.
The comments come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was ready to implement the deal and would present it to his full Cabinet later in the evening.
Netanyahu says cease-fire with Hezbollah would isolate Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that a cease-fire in Lebanon is unlikely to facilitate a truce or hostage-release agreement in Gaza, where Israeli forces continue their war with Hamas.
Speaking after Israel’s security cabinet approved a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah, Netanyahu said the truce would allow Israel to “intensify” pressure on Hamas and focus on the “Iranian threat.”
“When Hezbollah is out of the picture, Hamas is left alone in the fight. Our pressure on it will intensify,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu to present Hezbollah cease-fire deal to Israeli Cabinet
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking Israel’s cabinet to approve a cease-fire deal to stop fighting against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
He made the announcement on Tuesday after meeting with his security cabinet.
It could end the current fighting that has dragged on for over a year and intensified in September.
It led to thousands of deaths in Lebanon and nearly 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers killed.
Nearly 60,000 people in Israel and 1 million in Lebanon have had to flee their homes.
Netanyahu said a Lebanon truce will allow Israel to “focus on Iranian threat” but warned tough action will be taken against Hezbollah in the event of violations.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, considered a terror group by some countries, including the US and Germany, began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas-led terror attack on southern Israel.
Israel stepped up its bombing campaign in September and mounted a ground operation.
Blinken says Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal ‘in the final stages’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said efforts to secure a cease-fire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were “in the final stages.”
“We are tracking this very closely. I hope and believe we can get this over the finish line,” he said at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.
Blinken said he hoped that “by de-escalating tensions in the region, it can also help us to end the conflict in Gaza.”
Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of truce decision
Israeli warplanes have hit Beirut’s southern suburbs with a wave of airstrikes just before Israel’s cabinet was set to discuss a ceasefire deal with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic a deal could be reached.
But despite the possibility of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities were still raging on Tuesday.
Israeli strikes hit parts of Beirut’s densely-populated southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. The Israeli military said one barrage of strikes had hit 20 targets in the city in just 120 seconds.
Israel had issued its biggest evacuation warning yet, ordering civilians to leave 20 locations. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said his country’s air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel.
Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.
German foreign minister sees hope for Israel-Hezbollah truce
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said that — after more than a year of violence — a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon is “within reach.”
At the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Italy, Baerbock spoke of progress towards a political solution, crediting the direct mediation of the United States and France.
The German government had worked intensively on this with “closely coordinated shuttle diplomacy.”
“We are at a critical moment right now — perhaps a moment that also gives us hope,” said Baerbock at the meeting, which is being held in the small town of Fiuggi in central Italy.
The minister added: “Giving up, despite setbacks, is simply not an option.”
UN rights chief ‘gravely concerned’ about Lebanon violence
The United Nations human rights chief has voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days.
While Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since October last year, fighting has escalated dramatically in recent months.
“UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November,” Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.
The comments come as Israel’s security Cabinet prepares to meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a proposed cease-fire deal in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Lebanon truce deal to be decided soon, says deputy foreign minister
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel says the country’s security Cabinet is set to meet later in the day to discuss a cease-fire deal.
However, she declined “to go into details about it because of the sensitivity of the issue.”
Haskel also gave no exact time for the meeting. “There needs to be a decision, a discussion,” she said. “There might be a vote as well.”
She added: “The members of the Cabinet know some of the details and are going to go into more details this afternoon.”
An anonymous Israeli official previously said the security Cabinet would make its decision on Tuesday evening.
A senior Israeli official and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib appeared optimistic that a deal could be agreed on.
An agreement between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon could clear the way for an end to the conflict that has killed thousands since last year’s October 7 attacks and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and subsequent air strikes and ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel to act ‘forcefully’ if Lebanon cease-fire breached
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has told the UN’s Lebanon envoy that any breach of a cease-fire deal that the security Cabinet is set to vote on would result in Israel acting directly.
“If you do not act, we will do it, forcefully,” Katz told envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert when meeting her in Tel Aviv.
Katz added that Israel would have “zero tolerance” when defending its security interests in the future, according to a statement from his office.
“Any house rebuilt in south Lebanon and used as a terrorist base will be destroyed, any rearming or terrorist organization will be attacked, any attempt at transferring arms will be foiled, and any threat against our forces or our citizens will be immediately eliminated,” said Katz in the statement.
IDF calls for evacuation of parts of southern Beirut
Israel’s military has issued a new evacuation message for the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
In a post on the platform X, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, published maps showing several buildings and called on civilians nearby to evacuate.
Adraee told residents to maintain a distance of 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the sites, saying that they were “near Hezbollah facilities and interests.”
Israel has ‘no excuse’ not to implement Lebanon cease-fire — Borrell
EU top diplomat Josep Borrell has urged Israel to approve a US-mediated proposal for a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a cease-fire … No more excuses. No more additional requests. Stop this fighting. Stop killing people,” Borrell said.
The EU’s foreign policy chief stressed that the deal “gives Israel all the security commitments they were asking for.”
Borrell said that Lebanon had asked for France to be included in the deal’s implementation committee, but Israel expressed misgivings about the idea.
Referring to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Borrell called for European countries to fulfill their obligations under international law.
“You cannot approve of the court when it goes against [Russian President Vladimir Putin] and oppose it when it goes against Netanyahu,” he said.
Last week, the ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as the Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
In March 2023, the court issued warrants against Putin and children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over allegations of unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
Israeli Cabinet to discuss Lebanon cease-fire proposal
Israel’s wartime Cabinet was due to meet on Tuesday to vote on a proposed cease-fire deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said talks were progressing.
“We believe we’ve reached this point where we’re close,” he said, adding “we’re not there yet.”
Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency cited Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker, Elias Bou Saab, as saying that the agreement had already been approved by Lebanon’s government and that there were “no serious obstacles” towards its implementation.
Hezbollah’s political wing is part of Lebanon’s governing coalition, and the group has endorsed parliament speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate with Israel.
US news outlet Axios reported that Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon under the draft agreement, with Lebanese forces deploying near the border and Hezbollah moving heavy weapons north of the Litani River.
The proposal includes a provision under which Israel would reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations.
The Litani River lies around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) to the north of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israel has repeatedly called for Hezbollah to withdraw from areas south of the waterway, citing the terms of a UN resolution that put an end to the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
News of the planned cabinet meeting came as Israel’s military carried out a wave of airstrikes on Monday. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that at least 31 people were killed in the attacks.
Meanwhile, months of negotiations between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, have failed to produce a deal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier this month, Qatar said it had suspended its mediation efforts and that they would only resume once “the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war.”
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