Israel will attack if Hezbollah violates ceasefire, Benjamin Netanyahu warns

The Israeli Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal brokered by the US and France to end 13 months of fighting between the Jewish nation and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The agreement is set to come into effect today.

In Short

• Israel and Hezbollah agree to US-France brokered ceasefire
• Netanyahu warns of response to any Hezbollah violations
• He says length of ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon

Israel and Hezbollah have finally agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the US and France to end the violent border skirmishes in Lebanon that started in October 2023, soon after Hamas attacked the Jewish nation. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned the Iran-backed militant group if it violates the agreement.

"The length of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon... If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack," he said in a video address late Tuesday night.

As part of the agreement slated to take effect today, Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with the Jewish nation.

It also calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in the area south of the Litani River, a boundary established at the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

Meanwhile, thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would be deployed in the south, and an international panel headed by the US will monitor the compliance.