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Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a US-brokered ceasefire, as Washington seeks to stop fighting between the Iran-backed militant group Hizbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
In a joint statement with the US on Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon said they had agreed to a cessation of hostilities contingent on Hizbollah withdrawing its fighters from south Lebanon and halting its attacks on Israel.
“The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hizbollah operatives from the south Litani sector,” said the statement published by the US state department.
It is unclear whether the agreement will halt fighting in Lebanon. A US-brokered ceasefire in April had earlier failed to stop fighting.
Israel has been battling with Hizbollah, which has yet to publicly comment on the announcement. The group was not represented in Washington.
The price of Brent crude oil fell 1 per cent to $96.90 on Thursday.
The renewed conflict between Israel and Hizbollah erupted after the militant group fired rockets across the border, following the launch of the US and Israeli war against Iran in February.
The state department said the deal would enable progress towards “a comprehensive peace and security agreement” between Israel and Lebanon, which do not share diplomatic relations.
It added that the two sides would move towards creating “pilot zones” controlled by the Lebanese military and from which Hizbollah would be prohibited. It was not immediately clear how such a provision would be enforced.
Washington has been trying to end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah for weeks as part of a broader effort to strike a long-term deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and formalise a ceasefire that was agreed in early April.
Tehran has repeatedly tied maintaining a ceasefire with the US agreed in April to a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. Iranian media reported on Monday that Tehran was suspending negotiations with Washington due to Israel’s escalating operations inside Lebanon.
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US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel and Hizbollah had agreed to limit their fighting in Lebanon after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicating with the Iranian-backed militant group.
He wrote on social media that Netanyahu had agreed that Israeli forces “going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back”. He added that Hizbollah had agreed not to continue its attacks on Israel.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington, in a statement posted on Monday, said Hizbollah had agreed to a “mutual cessation of attacks”. It added that Israel would not strike Hizbollah strongholds in southern Beirut.
There were further exchanges of fire between Hizbollah and Israel on Wednesday. Israeli strikes killed at least nine people and Hizbollah fired projectiles into northern Israel.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,516 people and displaced more than 1mn in Lebanon since the country was drawn into the broader conflict between Iran, Israel and the US.
Israel, which has had 26 soldiers killed on operations inside Lebanon, has issued sweeping evacuation orders for wide swaths of southern Lebanon as it seeks to dislodge Hizbollah.
Source:
www.ft.com
