French news agency AFP cites a senior Hamas source as saying that the organization is prepared for a truce in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of prisoners following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Reuters reports 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 and we hope that this agreement will pave the way to reaching an agreement that ends the war of genocide against our people in Gaza.”
AFP also reports French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot as saying that “certain leaders” might not be arrested if they visit France, referring to the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of defense Yoav Gallant. This understanding enabled France to be part of the agreement with Lebanon and of the mechanism that will supervise implementation of the agreement.
The ceasefire with Lebanon, brokered by US envoy Amos Hochstein, came into effect at 4 am this morning following fourteen months of fighting. Announcing that Israel and Lebanon had accepted the agreement, US President Joe Biden said that it was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
The agreement is essentially a reiteration of UN Security Council resolution 1701 which ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Over a period of 60 days, Hezbollah is due to withdraw its forces to behind the Litani River, about 30 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 to allow Hezbollah to rebuild its infrastructure there, with the US and France monitoring implementation. Prime Minister Netanyahu insists that Israel retains the right to react militarily to any breach of the ceasefire. The BBC quotes President Biden as telling reporters: “If Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense consistent with international law.”
Before the ceasefire came into effect, the Israel Air Force attacked a secret Hezbollah factory producing ground-to-ground missiles. More than 100 bombs were dropped on the site with the aim of destroying the factory entirely. This morning, the IDF fired on vehicles suspected of carrying Hezbollah personnel in an area of southern Lebanon forbidden to traffic. Despite warning from the IDF, residents of southern Lebanon have been attempting to return to their villages, which have seen extensive destruction in IDF operations against Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure in the area.
The Ministry of Transport has called on foreign airlines to resume flights ot and from Israel in the wake of the ceasefire agreement.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on November 27, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
