Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire

JERUSALEM — Israel approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli warplanes meanwhile carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Another huge airstrike shook Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced.

Israel's security Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement late Tuesday after it was presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 . But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza , where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East without saying how. The Biden administration spent much of this year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza but the talks repeatedly sputtered to a halt .

Still, any halt to the fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas and exchanged direct fire with Israel on two occasions earlier this year.

Israel says it will ‘attack with might’ if Hezbollah breaks truce

Netanyahu presented the ceasefire proposal to Cabinet ministers after a televised address in which he listed a series of accomplishments against Israel’s enemies across the region. He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran, which backs both groups.

“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said. “For every violation, we will attack with might.”

The ceasefire deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides’ compliance.

But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal.

Biden said Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce, but that the deal “was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”

Netanyahu’s office said Israel appreciated the U.S. efforts in securing the deal but “reserves the right to act against every threat to its security.”

Israeli soldiers inspect the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon landed in a backyard in Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, on Tuesday. (Leo Correa/AP)

Hezbollah has said it accepts the proposal, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form.

“After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network.

“We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.”

Warplanes bombard Beirut and its southern suburbs

Even as Israeli, U.S, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah’s military capabilities.

An Israeli strike on Tuesday leveled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed at least one person and wounded 13, it said.

Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.

Israel also struck a building in Beirut’s bustling commercial district of Hamra for the first time, hitting a site that is around 400 meters from Lebanon’s Central Bank. There were no reports of casualties.

The Israeli military said it struck targets in Beirut and other areas linked to Hezbollah’s financial arm.

The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a major presence, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where the U.N. peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, is headquartered.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.

Israeli forces reach Litani River in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometers from the Israeli border.

Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers north of the border.

Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.

Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.

Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country’s north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.

Chehayeb and Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press reporters Lujain Jo and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, and Aamer Madhani in Washington, contributed.

耶路撒冷——以色列周二批准了由美国斡旋达成的与黎巴嫩真主党的停火协议，为结束与加沙地带持续战争相关的近14个月的战斗奠定了基础。

与此同时，以色列战机对贝鲁特及其南部郊区发动了自冲突爆发以来最猛烈的空袭，并发布了创纪录数量的疏散警告。据地方当局称，全国各地至少有24人在空袭中丧生。以色列方面表示，在周三凌晨4点（当地时间）停火生效之前，将继续猛烈打击真主党。

停火协议宣布后不久，贝鲁特又遭到一次大规模空袭。

以色列总理内塔尼亚胡办公室周二晚间表示，以色列安全内阁批准了停火协议。美国总统拜登在华盛顿发表讲话，称该协议是“好消息”，并表示他的政府将再次推动加沙停火。

以色列与真主党停火将是结束哈马斯于2023年10月7日袭击以色列引发的地区动荡的第一步。但这并不能解决加沙地带的毁灭性战争，哈马斯仍然在那里扣押着数十名人质，冲突更加棘手。

美国当选总统唐纳德·特朗普誓言要为中东带来和平，但并未说明具体方案。拜登政府今年大部分时间都在努力斡旋加沙地带的停火和人质释放，但谈判屡次陷入僵局。

不过，黎巴嫩战事的任何停歇都有望降低以色列和伊朗之间发生战争的可能性。伊朗支持真主党和哈马斯，并在今年早些时候两次与以色列直接交火。

以色列称，如果真主党破坏停火协议，将“全力反击”。

内塔尼亚胡在发表电视讲话后向内阁部长们提出了停火方案。他在讲话中列举了以色列在该地区打击敌对势力的一系列成就。他表示，与真主党停火将进一步孤立加沙的哈马斯，使以色列能够集中精力应对其主要敌人伊朗，因为伊朗同时支持这两个组织。

他说：“如果真主党违反协议并试图重新武装，我们将发动攻击。对于任何违约行为，我们都将予以强力反击。”

停火协议要求双方先暂停战斗两个月，真主党必须结束在黎巴嫩南部大片地区的武装存在，而以色列军队则需撤回其控制的边境地区。数千名黎巴嫩军队和联合国维和人员将部署到南部地区，一个由美国领导的国际小组将监督各方遵守协议的情况。

但落实情况仍存在很大疑问。以色列要求，如果真主党违反其义务，以色列有权采取行动。黎巴嫩官员拒绝将这一点写入提案。

拜登表示，如果真主党违反停火条款，以色列保留迅速恢复在黎巴嫩的军事行动的权利，但该协议“旨在永久停止敌对行动”。

内塔尼亚胡办公室表示，以色列感谢美国为达成这项协议所做的努力，但“保留对任何威胁其安全的行径采取行动的权利”。

周二，以色列士兵在以色列北部基里亚特什莫纳一处民宅后院检查一枚从黎巴嫩发射的火箭弹落点。（Leo Correa/AP）

真主党表示接受该提议，但该组织的一名高级官员周二表示，他们尚未看到协议的最终版本。

真主党政治委员会副主席马哈茂德·卡马蒂告诉半岛电视台：“在审查了敌对政府签署的协议后，我们将看看我们所声明的内容与黎巴嫩官员所达成的协议是否一致。”

“我们当然希望结束侵略，但绝不能以牺牲黎巴嫩国家主权为代价，”他说。“任何侵犯主权的行为都不能容忍。”

战机轰炸贝鲁特及其南部郊区

尽管以色列、美国、黎巴嫩和国际官员对停火表示越来越乐观，但以色列仍在继续其在黎巴嫩的军事行动，以色列称该行动旨在削弱真主党的军事能力。

周二，以色列空袭夷平了贝鲁特市中心巴斯塔区的一栋居民楼——这是近日来战机第二次袭击该市中心附近的这片人口稠密地区。据黎巴嫩卫生部称，至少7人死亡，37人受伤。卫生部还表示，对贝鲁特南部郊区的空袭造成至少1人死亡，13人受伤。

在贝鲁特的一次袭击中，三人丧生；在黎巴嫩南部一个巴勒斯坦难民营的袭击中，也有三人死亡。黎巴嫩国家媒体称，东部巴勒贝克省另有十人丧生。以色列方面表示，其袭击目标是真主党武装人员及其基础设施。

以色列首次袭击了贝鲁特繁华的商业区哈姆拉的一栋建筑，目标距离黎巴嫩中央银行约400米。目前尚无人员伤亡报告。

以色列军方称，他们袭击了贝鲁特及其他与真主党金融部门有关的地区的目标。

疏散警告覆盖了许多地区，包括贝鲁特此前未曾遭受袭击的部分地区。这些警告，加上人们担心以色列会在停火前加大袭击力度，导致居民纷纷逃离。交通堵塞严重，一些汽车上绑着床垫。数十人聚集在市中心广场，有些人甚至穿着睡衣，他们裹着毯子取暖，或围坐在篝火旁，以色列无人机在头顶嗡嗡作响。

与此同时，真主党继续发射火箭弹，引发以色列北部多地响起空袭警报。

以色列军方发言人阿维凯·阿德拉伊对贝鲁特南部郊区的 20 栋建筑物发布了疏散警告，真主党在该地区势力强大；他还对联合国维和部队驻黎巴嫩临时部队（联黎部队）总部所在的南部城镇纳库拉发布了疏散警告。

联合国驻黎巴嫩临时部队发言人安德烈亚·特内蒂告诉美联社，维和人员不会撤离。

以色列军队抵达黎巴嫩南部利塔尼河。

以色列军方还表示，其地面部队与真主党武装发生冲突，摧毁了位于利塔尼河东端斯卢基地区的火箭发射器，该地区距离以色列边境仅几公里。

根据停火协议，真主党将被要求将其部队转移到利塔尼河以北，利塔尼河在某些地方距离边境以北约 30 公里。

在哈马斯于2023年10月7日袭击以色列南部，引发加沙战争的第二天，真主党开始向以色列北部开火，声称此举是为了声援巴勒斯坦人。以色列随即对真主党还击，双方此后一直交火不断。

9月中旬，以色列加大了轰炸力度，随后向黎巴嫩派遣军队，誓言要制止真主党的炮火，以便数万名撤离的以色列人能够返回家园。

据黎巴嫩卫生官员称，过去13个月里，以色列在黎巴嫩的炮火已造成超过3760人死亡，其中许多是平民。轰炸迫使120万人流离失所。以色列方面则表示，已造成超过2000名真主党成员死亡。

真主党的炮火迫使约5万名以色列人在该国北部撤离，其火箭弹甚至射到了以色列南部的特拉维夫。至少75人丧生，其中一半以上是平民。在黎巴嫩的地面攻势中，超过50名以色列士兵阵亡。

Chehayeb 和 Mroue 从贝鲁特报道。美联社记者 Lujain Jo 和 Sally Abou AlJoud（均在贝鲁特）以及 Aamer Madhani（在华盛顿）亦有贡献。