AMMAN, Jordan — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he has recommended that this government approve a cease-fire agreement to pause the conflict with Hezbollah, raising hopes for an end — at least temporarily — to more than a year of cross-border hostilities with the Lebanese Shiite militant group.
In the hours ahead of the security Cabinet meeting, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes across Lebanon, striking areas in the country’s southern and eastern regions, along with the suburbs of the capital — areas where Hezbollah holds sway.
Several airstrikes also hit the heart of Beirut, killing at least 10 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
In a televised address on Tuesday evening local time, Netanyahu said he would present the outline of the proposal to the government, pushing his ministers to accept the move despite reservations from far-right leaders who are integral members of his coalition.
“The length of the cease-fire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. He added that Israel would maintain freedom to act against violations.
“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and seeks to arm itself, we will attack,” he said.
The agreement would not affect the fighting in Gaza Strip with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The agreement will initiate a 60-day truce that would see both sides withdraw: Israeli troops out of south Lebanon to Israeli territory, and Hezbollah to areas north of the Litani River, some 18 miles north of the Lebanese-Israeli border. During the truce, a monitoring mechanism would be established that would ensure Hezbollah is not able to reconstitute itself or wage attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon.
Lebanese officials say some 5,000 soldiers from Lebanon’s army — which has remained neutral during the conflict — would then enter south Lebanon, along with U.N. peacekeeping forces.
Despite the optimism, many elements of the cease-fire proposal — which came about after vigorous negotiations brokered by the U.S. and France — remain unclear.
One of the larger sticking points is whether Israel would be able to continue striking Hezbollah throughout Lebanon if the group attempts to reestablish a presence south of the Litani River, or if it continues to wage attacks on Israel or smuggle weapons.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the U.N.’s Lebanon envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Tuesday that Israel would act “forcefully” against any breach of the cease-fire agreement.
“If you do not act, we will do it, forcefully,” Katz said in a statement. “Any house rebuilt in south Lebanon and used as a terrorist base will be destroyed, any rearming or terrorist organization will be attacked, any attempt at transferring arms will be foiled, and any threat against our forces or our citizens will be immediately eliminated.”
Lebanese leaders have dismissed such an agreement as an unacceptable breach of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The cease-fire would officially be an agreement between Israel and Lebanon. It includes a Lebanese lawmaker who has been negotiating on Hezbollah’s behalf. But Hezbollah, a paramilitary faction and political party which is backed by Iran, is not officially a party to the agreement.
A cease-fire would end a 13-month conflict that began a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, when Hezbollah initiated a rocket campaign in northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
In the months of tit-for-tat strikes that followed, some 60,000 people from northern Israel and approximately 100,000 Lebanese from southern Lebanon were displaced.
In September, Israel escalated its attacks, conducting thousands of airstrikes on Hezbollah-dominated parts of the country and starting an invasion that saw Israeli troops enter southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006. It also assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Since Oct. 8, 2023, more than 3,645 people have been killed in Lebanon and 15,355 injured, according to Lebanese government data, the majority of them in the last two months. More than 25% of those killed were women and children, according to the government data, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Meanwhile, some 1.2 million people — almost a quarter of Lebanon’s population — have been displaced, with wide swaths of the country destroyed.
The Israeli government said on Tuesday that 78 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Hezbollah and its allies, including 47 civilians.
