2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement

2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement

Type	Ceasefire agreement
Context	Temporarily stopping the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
Signed	November 26, 2024 (2024-11-26)
Effective	November 27, 2024 (2024-11-27), 4:00 GMT
Signatories	Benjamin Netanyahu Naim Qassem Najib Mikati Amos Hochstein
Parties	Israel Hezbollah Lebanon

A tentative sixty-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon designed to temporarily halt the Israel–Hezbollah conflict is expected to enter into force on November 27, 2024, according to reports published in Israeli media. The ceasefire halts the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began on October 8, 2023, the Israeli attacks against Lebanon that began on September 19, 2024, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that began on October 1, 2024.

Background

Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah started exchanging fire along the Israel–Lebanon border and in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on 8 October 2023. Israel also carried out airstrikes throughout Lebanon and in Syria. The clashes were part of the spillover of the Israel–Hamas war and the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict since the 2006 Lebanon War. On 30 September 2024, Israel escalated the conflict into a ground invasion of Lebanon.

On 8 October 2023, Hezbollah started firing guided rockets and artillery shells at Israeli positions in the occupied Shebaa Farms, which it said was in solidarity with Palestinians following the Hamas attack on Israel and beginning of Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. Israel retaliated by launching drone strikes and artillery shells at Hezbollah positions near Lebanon's boundary with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

In northern Israel, the ongoing conflict has forced approximately 96,000 individuals to leave their homes, while in Lebanon, over 1.4 million individuals have been displaced, with Hezbollah saying it would not stop attacks against Israel until it stops its attacks and military operations in Gaza. During the conflict, Israel has launched attacks at a much higher rate than Hezbollah has. Between 21 October 2023 and 20 February 2024, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) recorded an estimated 7,948 incidents of artillery fire from the south of the Blue Line (from Israel to Lebanon) and 978 incidents of artillery fire from the northern side (from Lebanon to Israel).

There was a significant escalation in September 2024, starting with the Lebanon pager explosions, which targeted Hezbollah and were widely attributed to Israel. Forty-two people were killed and thousands wounded. On 23 September, Israel began an aerial bombing campaign throughout Lebanon, codenamed Operation Northern Arrows, which included assassinations of senior Hezbollah commanders. Israel said its attacks would continue until its citizens could return safely to the north. The first day was the deadliest, with Israeli strikes killing at least 558 people and injuring more than 1,800 including children, women and paramedics. On 27 September, the Israeli Air Force bombed and destroyed Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut, killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. On 1 October, the Israeli military began a full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon, also known as the Third Lebanon War by some Israeli sources, although it had been conducting limited ground operations for some time.

The agreement

On November 26, 2024, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu announced the transfer of a ceasefire agreement to the Security Cabinet of Israel. The cabinet voted 10–1 in favor of approving the deal, with the sole opponent being National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

According to Israeli reports, the ceasefire agreement will include several clauses:

1. Hezbollah, or any other armed movement in Lebanon, will not carry out any offensive action against Israel.
2. Israel will not carry out any offensive action against targets in Lebanon, including on the ground, in the air and at sea.
3. Israel and Lebanon recognize the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
4. The Lebanese army and the Lebanese security forces will be the only armed groups authorized to operate in southern Lebanon.
5. Sale, supply and production of weapons in Lebanon will be under the supervision and control of the Lebanese government.
6. All unauthorized facilities involved in the production of weapons and their accessories will be dismantled, as well as infrastructure and military positions. Unauthorized weapons that do not comply with these obligations will be confiscated.
7. A committee will be established that will be acceptable to Israel and Lebanon, which will supervise and assist in ensuring the enforcement of the agreement. The enforcement will involve, among others, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
8. Israel and Lebanon will report any possible violation of the commitments to the aforementioned committee and UNIFIL.
9. Lebanese military forces will be deployed along all borders and crossing points in the country.
10. Israel will gradually withdraw its forces into Israeli territory in a period of up to 60 days.
11. During this period of time, Hezbollah operatives will withdraw to the north of the Litani River, while the armed forces that will be allowed to stay in this area will be the Lebanese Armed Forces and the UNIFIL force.
12. Israel will retain "complete military freedom of action" to attack Lebanon in the event of a violation of the agreement by Hezbollah or another entity in Lebanon.
13. A buffer zone will not be established between the villages of South Lebanon and the settlements on the conflict line.
14. The US will promote indirect negotiations between Israel and Lebanon to reach a recognized land border.

According to Lebanese reports, a Lebanese government source reported that no escalations or breaches of the agreement occur by 10 a.m. local time on 27 November 2024, the ceasefire agreement will go into effect. Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati issued strong support for the agreement and urged the international community to help implement the agreement immediately in order to "halt Israeli aggression".

Political context

In a public announcement on Israeli television following deliberation of the ceasefire terms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted his support for the deal on the basis that a ceasefire would allow the Israeli Defense Forces to focus primarily on Gaza Strip operations against Hamas and towards the “Iranian threat”. He stated that “we are changing the face of the region”.

He further stated that the ceasefire was considered due to claimed Israeli success in the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon because Hezbollah was "no longer the same group that launched a war against us", and that the Israeli Defense Forces had "set them back decades". He stated that the Israeli army had achieved many of its goals in the invasion and airstrikes by killing most of Hezbollah's leadership and destroying large numbers of Lebanese infrastructure linked to them.

Reactions

Israel

Former Israeli consul-general and ambassador Alon Pinkas deemed the deal "unenforceable" due to it assuming that the Lebanese army will supervise weapon production and distribution. He described this assumption as "impossible" due to Hezbollah's independence from the Lebanese army in weapon distribution and inability to cooperate.

Israeli Security Minister and far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed dissatisfaction with the ceasefire deal due to it not providing Israel with a "security belt", not allowing Israelis to return to Northern Israel, and not providing the Lebanese army resistance against Hezbollah.

Middle East

Military analyst Elijah Magnier expressed the belief that the ceasefire was considered among the Israeli cabinet due to the government's underestimating of Hezbollah's strength and overestimating their ability to completely destroy the group. He claimed that despite Israel's ground invasion and 52 days of bombardment, Israel was unable to achieve "even half of what it did" compared to the 2006 Lebanon War, possibly leading to the ceasefire consideration and a shift in geopolitical policy towards "changing" the entire Middle East. Al-Jazeera political analyst Marwan Bishara called the deal a "very temporary, fragile truce" due to it allowing Israel to resume military operations at any perceived provocation by Hezbollah and Israel's continued commitment to breaking down Hezbollah.

Several Gazan citizens expressed significant concern over the potential ceasefire agreement allowing Israel to direct all its military forces towards bombardments and invasions in the Gaza Strip, exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis.

See also

• May 17 Agreement
• 2023 Israel–Hamas ceasefire