Sawt Falasteen - Ceasefire begins in Israel-Hezbollah war

The truce, which began at 4:00 am (0200 GMT), should bring to a halt a war that has forced tens of thousands of people in Israel and hundreds of thousands more in Lebanon to flee their homes.

The Israeli army warned soon after the ceasefire began that residents of south Lebanon should not approach Israel Defense Forces positions and villages its forces had ordered to be evacuated.

"With the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement and based on its provisions, the IDF remains deployed in its positions inside southern Lebanon," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.

"You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area."

The war has seen swathes of Lebanon pounded by air strikes, and Israeli troops deployed across the border to battle Hezbollah militants.

It began with Hezbollah launching cross-border strikes in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

US President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his ministers had agreed to a halt.

The United States is Israel's key ally and military backer, and Biden hailed the deal as "good news" and a "new start" for Lebanon.

Netanyahu thanked Biden for his involvement in brokering the deal, and said it would allow Israel to focus on Hamas in Gaza and Iran.

Under the terms of the Lebanon truce, Israel will maintain "full" freedom to act against Hezbollah should the Iran-backed group pose any new threat, Netanyahu said.

Lebanon says at least 3,823 people have been killed in the country since exchanges of fire began in October 2023, most of them in the past several weeks, when Israel escalated its campaign against Hezbollah.

On the Israeli side, the hostilities with Hezbollah have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.

The hours before the truce took effect were some of the most violent in the war.

Israel conducted a spate of strikes on the heart of the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, while Hezbollah claimed attacks on northern Israel after the truce was announced.

Air strikes also hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Wednesday, according to AFPTV, less than an hour before the truce came into force.

The Israeli army about two hours earlier ordered the evacuation of areas of central Beirut and the southern suburbs of the capital.

Hezbollah did not participate in any direct talks for the truce, with Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri mediating on its behalf.

It has yet to formally comment on the truce.

- Focus on Iran -

The war in Lebanon has left Hezbollah massively weakened but not crushed.

It lost its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive air strike in September, as well as a string of top commanders in other raids.

A truce in Lebanon, Netanyahu said, will permit Israel to redirect its efforts back to Gaza, where it has been at war with Hamas since October of last year.

"When Hezbollah is out of the picture, Hamas is left alone in the fight. Our pressure on it will intensify," Netanyahu said.

The agreement will also enable "focusing on the Iranian threat" and give Israel's military time to resupply, he added.

Iran is the main backer of both Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as other regional proxies that profess to be at war with Israel.

Iran itself has fired two barrages of missiles and drones at Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, most of which were intercepted by Israel or its allies.

Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel forced tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes, and Israeli officials have said they are fighting so they can return safely.

Some northern residents questioned whether that would be possible under a ceasefire.

"In my opinion, it would be a serious mistake to sign an agreement as long as Hezbollah has not been completely eliminated," said Maryam Younnes, 29, a student from Maalot-Tarshiha.

- 'Blown away' -

In Lebanon, the war has forced nearly 900,000 people to flee their homes, the UN says.

Biden said the ceasefire deal was designed to be a "permanent cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah.

Under the agreement, the Lebanese army would take control of the border area on their side and "what is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed... to threaten the security of Israel again", he said.

Hezbollah was the only armed group that refused to surrender its weapons after the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war ended.

To date, the group has maintained a strong presence in parts of Lebanon and its arsenal is believed to be more powerful than that of the national army.

Divided Lebanon has been in crisis for years and will struggle to return to a semblance of normalcy even after a truce.

The United States and France would ensure the deal was fully implemented, Biden said.

The announcements followed a flurry of strikes on central Beirut as well as on Hezbollah's bastion in the southern suburbs.

One strike hit the normally busy Hamra district, home to residential buildings, restaurants, offices, shops, the American University of Beirut and its associated hospital.

Earlier, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that three strikes hit the central Nweiri neighbourhood and destroyed a "four-storey building housing displaced people".

"We were blown away and the walls fell on top of us," said Rola Jaafar, who lives in the building opposite.

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST