WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden announced on Nov. 26 that the governments of Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Today, I have some good news to report from the Middle East,” Biden said. “Just spoke with the prime minister of Israel and Lebanon. I’m pleased to announce that the governments have accepted the United States proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.”
Biden’s announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the agreement to his cabinet earlier on Tuesday. The Israeli prime minister’s cabinet approved the deal with a 10–1 vote.
The cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon will end more than a year of cross-border air and rocket attacks as well as two months of ground operations by Israel aimed at pushing the Hezbollah terrorist group away from its northern border. The war broke out after the Hamas terrorist organization launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and has continued alongside the conflict in Gaza.
Biden said the cease-fire is set to go into effect at 4 a.m. local time across Israel and Lebanon, about five hours after he announced the deal.
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said.
He thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his partnership in brokering the peace agreement.
The deal calls for Hezbollah to move north, away from the Israel–Lebanon border. In turn, the Lebanese army and its security forces will deploy along Lebanon’s southern border to ensure compliance with the deal. In the meantime, Israeli forces will pull back from southern Lebanon to the Israeli side of the border within 60 days.
Biden said the United States will, with full support from France and other allies, work with Israel and Lebanon to oversee the implementation of the cease-fire agreement. He said no U.S. troops would be deployed in southern Lebanon as part of this arrangement.
Biden said that since the conflict began, nearly 70,000 Israelis and 300,000 Lebanese were forced to live as refugees.
“Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities and begin to rebuild their homes, their schools, their farms, their businesses, and their very lives. We’re determined this conflict will not be just another cycle of violence,” Biden said.
If the cease-fire is not effectively enforced, Israel has said it retains the freedom to take renewed military action.
The agreement was brokered after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to Lebanon and Israel, meeting first with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who was authorized by Hezbollah to negotiate on its behalf, and then with Netanyahu.
“Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza,” Biden said.
