The French news agency quoted a senior Hamas source as saying that the movement is ready for a truce in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of prisoners after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Reuters quoted Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri as saying: Hamas appreciates the right of Lebanon and Hezbollah to reach an agreement that protects the people of Lebanon. We hope that this agreement will pave the way for reaching an agreement that ends the genocidal war against the Lebanese people. Our people in Gaza.”
AFP also quoted French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as saying that “some leaders” may not be arrested if they visit France, referring to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant. . This understanding enabled France to be part of the agreement with Lebanon and in the mechanism that will supervise the implementation of the agreement.
The ceasefire with Lebanon, brokered by US envoy Amos Hostein, entered into force at 4 a.m. today after fourteen months of fighting. US President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Lebanon had accepted the agreement, and said that it was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
The agreement is essentially a repeat of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Over 60 days, Hezbollah is scheduled to withdraw its forces beyond the Litani River, about 30 days away. kilometers north of the border, while Israel withdraws its forces from Lebanon. The Lebanese army is supposed to take control of the border area and not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its infrastructure there, with the United States and France monitoring implementation. Prime Minister Netanyahu insists that Israel reserves the right to respond militarily to any violation of the ceasefire. The BBC quoted President Biden as telling reporters: “If Hezbollah or anyone else violates the agreement and poses a direct threat to Israel, Israel reserves the right to self-defense in accordance with international law.”
Before the ceasefire came into effect, the Israeli Air Force attacked a secret Hezbollah factory producing surface-to-surface missiles. More than 100 bombs were dropped on the site with the aim of completely destroying the factory. This morning, the IDF opened fire on vehicles suspected of carrying Hezbollah members in a restricted traffic zone in southern Lebanon. Despite warnings from the Israeli army, residents of southern Lebanon are trying to return to their villages, which have witnessed widespread destruction in Israeli army operations against Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure in the area.
The Ministry of Transport called on foreign airlines to resume their flights to and from Israel following the ceasefire agreement.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 27, 2024.
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