Middle East latest: Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon begins
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants began early Wednesday morning, after Beirut residents endured the most intense day of Israeli strikes since the war began.
Many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced Tuesday.
At least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities.
Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country's north.
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas' attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.
In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 1,04,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Here's the Latest:
Lebanon sees quiet, but recovery could be slow
BEIRUT — As the ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday, much of Lebanon was quiet for the first time since late September, following weeks of intense overnight strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut's southern suburbs, battered over the past two months.
Israel's Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee has warned displaced Lebanese not to return to their villages in southern Lebanon, but some videos circulating on social media show displaced Lebanese defying these calls and returning to villages in the south near the coastal city of Tyre.
Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon after Israel launched a ground invasion in October.
Lebanese have also been displaced from other parts of the country, notably the southern Beirut suburbs and the eastern Bekaa province. It's unclear how long it will take cash-strapped Lebanon to rebuild these bombarded neighbourhoods.
The war has displaced some 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government.
Israeli military says its evacuation orders in south Lebanon are in still in effect
JERUSALEM — As the ceasefire took effect early Wednesday, Israel's military warned people with homes in areas of south Lebanon that it ordered evacuated to stay away for now.
Israeli military spokesman Col Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.
“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.”
There were no immediate signs of renewed fighting as the ceasefire took hold early Wednesday morning.
Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon begins
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants has begun as a region on edge wonders whether it will hold.
The ceasefire announced Tuesday is a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting sparked by the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border.
An international panel led by the United States will monitor compliance.
The ceasefire began at 4 am Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that in recent weeks turned into all-out war.
French president calls planned ceasefire a new page' for Lebanon
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah marked a “new page” for Lebanon and called on its leaders to elect a president “without delay.”
In a video message on X, Macron said restoring Lebanon's sovereignty depends on ending the presidential vacuum.
“It is the responsibility of Lebanese authorities and all those in senior political roles,” he said.
Residents of Lebanon's capital flee Israeli strikes
BEIRUT — Ahmad Khateeb, a musician and artist who performs in a renowned theater in Beirut's Hamra neighbourhood, fled to the city's seaside promenade with seven members of his family after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in central Beirut, including one close to his area.
“This is the first time this area in Ras Beirut, Hamra, has received such a threat. This neighbourhood has historically been a refuge for everyone,” Khateeb told The Associated Press.
Outside the American University of Beirut Medical Centre in Hamra, dozens of people sought refuge, hoping the hospital would not be targeted. Among them was Rima Abdkhaluk, who sat on a sidewalk with a backpack at her side.
“I was at home having lunch when I received a call from (relatives) in Syria telling me they were about to hit Hamra,” she said.
She quickly packed her belongings and left with her mother. She convinced the hospital's staff to allow her mother inside while she waited outside on a piece of cardboard.
Israeli jets struck Beirut's Mar Elias neighbourhood as Abdkhaluk was speaking to The Associated Press. She held her hands tightly together and prayed. “I just need to see where they hit,” she started saying frantically.
Asked about the expected ceasefire, Abdkhaluk was skeptical. “I don't believe it. Israel can't be trusted.”
Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill at least 42 people in the final day before a ceasefire with Hezbollah
BEIRUT — The Health Ministry in Lebanon says 18 more people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across the country, bringing the total death toll on Tuesday to at least 42 people.
Eleven people were killed by Israeli bombing in eastern Lebanon, four were killed by strikes on border crossings between northern Lebanon and Syria, and three people were killed in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said early Wednesday.
In the hours before a ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel launched its most intense wave of strikes on the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict.
Strikes have targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah-related targets in several other parts of the country as well.
Israel's military issued a record number of evacuation warnings in Beirut, sending people fleeing from their homes.
Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens across the country's north.
UN chief welcomes ceasefire in Lebanon
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, and hopes it can end the violence and suffering of people in both countries, the UN spokesman says.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hezbollah to swiftly implement all commitments under the agreement, and take immediate steps toward fully implementing the 2006 UN Security Council resolution that ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Tuesday.
Resolution 1701 called for the deployment of Lebanese forces throughout the south, which borders Israel and is now mainly controlled by Hezbollah, and it calls for all armed groups including Hezbollah to be disarmed. Neither has happened in the past 17 years.
Trump team was kept in the loop as negotiations unfolded, Biden administration official says
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's senior national security team was briefed by the Biden administration as negotiations unfolded, according to the senior US official.
The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity in a White House-organised call, added that the incoming Trump administration officials were not directly involved in the talks, but that it was important that the incoming administration knew “what we were negotiating and what the commitments were.”
The official said “all fire will stop from all parties” at 4 am local time. The next step would be what the official described as a “phased withdrawal” by the Israeli military. As the Israelis pull back, Lebanese national forces will occupy the territories.
The process is slated to finish within 60 days. Lebanese forces is supposed to patrol the area and remove Hezbollah weaponry and infrastructure there.
Palestinian president urges action to halt the war in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling for urgent international intervention to stop what he described as “an ongoing genocidal war” in Gaza.
Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but not Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas. The US and others want a reinvigorated Palestinian Authority to run Gaza when the war ends.
In a speech on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Abbas accused Israel of repeating what happened to the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 – displacing them and seizing their land and resources.
Abbas demanded to know how long the world will remain silent and refuse to compel Israel to abide by international law. The speech to UN member nations was read by Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour.
Lebanon's prime minister welcomes Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
BEIRUT -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the US-brokered ceasefire proposal between Israel and He
