There has been a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah mediated by the United States and France. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has set the Lebanese extremist organization Hezbollah back decades by weakening it.
Netanyahu said he has given the green signal to the ceasefire following cabinet approval. He said Hezbollah, supported by Iran and Hamas, has become much weakened today.
Netanyahu said Hezbollah planned to attack us from Lebanon on October 8. One year later, Hezbollah is no longer the old Hezbollah. We’ve taken it back decades. We have killed many of their great leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah. We have killed thousands of their terrorists and destroyed their tunnels, which will take years to rebuild.
He said that in the last year we have changed the course of chess. We were attacked from seven fronts but we fought bravely. We are changing the face of the Middle East.
We tell you that under this ceasefire, the Israeli army will withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army will deploy its troops in this area. In addition to this, Hezbollah will withdraw its fighters from areas adjacent to the Litani River.
What are the terms of the ceasefire?
Under the ceasefire agreement, Israeli troops will have to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army will have to deploy to the area. Along with this, Hezbollah will also end its armed presence on the border south of the Litani River. Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah said the Lebanese army is willing to deploy at least 5,000 troops to southern Lebanon if Israeli troops withdraw.
Netanyahu says the duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon. If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack; If you try to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If you launch rockets, if you dig tunnels, if you bring trucks loaded with rockets, we will attack.
