The ceasefire represents the first major step towards ending the unrest in the region, after the outbreak of war on October 7 last year.
Hours before entering the ceasefire with Hezbollah In force, Israel launched the heaviest wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburb since the beginning of the conflict, and issued a record number of evacuation warnings.
At least 24 people were killed in raids across the country, according to local authorities Israel It aims to strike Hezbollah before the scheduled ceasefire takes effect at 4:00 a.m. Wednesday local time.
Another violent air strike rocked Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire and described it as a decisive step towards stability and the return of the displaced.
What did they say about the agreement?
The US President welcomed on Tuesday the reaching of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in LebanonHe described this as “good news,” thanking his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, for his participation in the efforts made.
In a speech he delivered at the White House after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the security government’s approval of the agreement, Joe Biden said that the ceasefire will enter into force on Wednesday at 4:00 local time (2:00 GMT).
Biden, who will hand over the presidency on January 20 to Donald Trump, said that the armistice agreement heralds a “new beginning” for Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron considered, on Tuesday evening, that the ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon should “open the way” for a similar “long-awaited” agreement in the Gaza Strip.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the “long-awaited” ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon, considering that this truce would “provide a degree of relief to the civilian population” in both countries.
Starmer called for “transforming the truce into a permanent political solution in Lebanon.” The British Prime Minister also pledged to be “at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence with the aim of achieving long-term and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati thanked US President Joe Biden for American support for Lebanon and the efforts made by his envoy, Mr. Moss Hochstein, to reach a ceasefire, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.
