Israel ‘set to approve ceasefire with Hezbollah’

Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly approve a 60-day truce with Hezbollah, at a security cabinet meeting to be held Tuesday evening local time but right-wing parties are opposing the move.

A view shows the moment of an Israeli strike on a building, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in the Chiyah district of Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. Picture: Reuters / Adnan Abidi

Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly set to approve a 60-day ceasefire with Hezbollah, at a security cabinet meeting to be held Tuesday evening local time.

Mr Netanyahu will convene the high-level security cabinet in Tel Aviv after it became clear ministers would approve the true an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

The US and France are reportedly preparing to announce the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, following reports a deal has been approved in principle by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The proposed ceasefire involves a 60-day transition period during which the Israeli military would withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army would deploy in areas close to the border and Hezbollah would move north of the Litani River.

A woman takes a picture at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes that targeted the Tayouneh suburb of Beirut on November 25, 2024. Picture: Ibrahim Amro / AFP

The Israeli government has yet to sign off on the deal, but multiple outlets report Israel’s cabinet would sign off on the deal when it meets on Tuesday to discuss the matter.

Reuters reported that US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce a ceasefire within 36 hours, citing four well placed Lebanese sources.

However, right wing politicians in Israel are opposing the truce, arguing a truce would ‘legitimise’ Hezbollah’s status in Lebanon and urging Jerusalem to settle for nothing less than the removal of the terror group from the country.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the ceasefire was a “grave mistake” and a “historic missed opportunity” to eliminate Hezbollah.

“With Hezbollah battered and eager for a ceasefire, we must not stop,” Mr Ben Gvir said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Dan Illouz, a member of the right-wing Likud party, said a truce would harm Israel’s security.

In a post on X/Twitter, Mr Illouz wrote, “Instead of leveraging the organisation’s weakness after two months of severe blows, the emerging agreement grants Hezbollah strategic achievements and endangers Israel’s security.”

Earlier, US media outlet Axios reported a senior US official saying: “Israel and Lebanon have agreed to the terms of a ceasefire agreement to end the Israel- Hezbollah conflict.”

“We think we have a deal. We are on the goal line but we haven’t passed it yet,’’ one source told the outlet.

“The Israeli cabinet needs to approve the deal on Tuesday and something can always go wrong until then.’’

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported the US had told Lebanese officials a ceasefire with Israel could be announced “within hours.”

CNN had earlier quoted Israeli and US officials saying the proposed deal includes a US-led oversight committee to monitor implementation and address violations, that the US will give Israel a letter of assurances supporting Israeli military action against imminent threats from Lebanese territory, and for action to disrupt things like the re-establishment of a Hezbollah military presence near the border or the smuggling of heavy weapons.

A source familiar with the talks said there were still other details being negotiated and that one misstep in the coming hours may up-end the progress.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told Reuters that talks toward a ceasefire with Hezbollah were “moving forward” but he stressed that Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement.

The war between the neighbours was sparked on October 8 last year, the day after Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israeli kibbutzim and a border dance party, killing around 1000 people. Hezbollah, a proxy for Iran, launched an offensive in solidarity with Hamas, on the northern Israeli border.

In response Israel began a major air offensive against Hezbollah in mid September, killing its most senior leaders including founder Hassan Nasrallah, and detonating thousands of booby trapped pagers injuring many Hezbollah commanders. On Monday Lebanon launched 350 rockets into Israel including on northern Israeli defence positions in Avivim and Meron in response to Israel attacking a Hezbollah command in Basta Fawqa in Beirut on Saturday.

Lebanon’s health ministry says that Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,750 people over the last year.