Israel and Lebanon have negotiated a ceasefire.
Following peace talks in the U.S. this week, the countries’ leaders have agreed to a 10-day pause in hostilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal “historic”, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the deal is “paving the way for achieving the peace process in the region.”
Here’s what you need to know about the agreement.
Background
In early March, Iranian-backed, Lebanon based group Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel after the joint U.S-Israeli strikes on Iran. Australia considers Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.
In retaliation, Israel repeatedly struck southern Lebanon, killing more than 350 people and displacing more than a million people. On 31 March it announced its intention to occupy the region.
The Lebanese and Israeli Ambassadors to the U.S. held peace talks this week, the first direct conversation since 1993.
Ceasefire
On Thursday (local time), the U.S State Department announced a Lebanese and Israeli ceasefire.
The countries agreed to a 10-day pause in hostilities that began on Friday at 7am AEST. Under the agreement:
- Israel can take self-defence measures but cannot launch offensive operations;
- Lebanon will work to “prevent” “hostile activities” by Hezbollah;
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- Only the Lebanese army is responsible for Lebanon’s sovereignty; and
- Both countries will meet in the U.S. for further peace talks.
“I welcome the announcement of the ceasefire... a central Lebanese demand we have pursued since the first day of the war... I pray for the martyrs who fell, and affirm my solidarity with their families, with the wounded, and with the citizens who were forced to flee their cities and villages," Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a statement.
Hezbollah addressed the ceasefire in a Telegram post, saying it “is not the end of the war.”
“This is a truce and a temporary ceasefire, until the outcome of the negotiations becomes clear.”
The post said: “We will not accept any occupation in our land.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I agreed to a timeout, or more accurately a temporary 10-day ceasefire to try and advance the agreement we began discussing during the meeting of ambassadors in Washington."
Buffer zone
Netanyahu said Israeli forces are holding a 10km “security buffer” from the “sea and continues to Mount Dov and the foothills of Mt. Hermon, up to the Syrian border.”
What’s next?
On Thursday (local time), Trump said: “I will be inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House for the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983”.
The UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said: “Even with a ceasefire, the crisis is far from over... Families cannot return to homes that no longer exist.”
Lebanon accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire soon after it went into effect.
