Israel-Lebanon ceasefire latest: Thousands defy Israeli warnings and return home as Hezbollah truce holds
Israel warns evacuated residents of Lebanon to not head home yet
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Your support makes all the difference.Waves of people are returning to their homes in southern Lebanon despite warnings from Israeli and Lebanese military to hold off after a breakthrough ceasefire was struck between Israel and Hezbollah.
“This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shia sect, and for all of Lebanon,” said Hussein Sweidan, a resident returning to the southern city of Tyre, one of the areas bombed by Israel on Tuesday.
But the mood was different in Israel, where many people believe the ceasefire is not strong enough and are hesitant to return to communities in the country’s north.
The Hamas group says it is ready to reach a ceasefire in Gaza with Israel after the truce between Benjamin Netanyahu and the Iran-backed militant group began early on Wednesday.
“We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners,” a senior official of Hamas told AFP.
US president Joe Biden on Tuesday said Washington will push for a ceasefire in Gaza in the coming days and secure the release of hostages.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon began a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict, killing at least 42 people across the country.
Israeli strike kills at least 13 at school sheltering displaced in Gaza City, medics say
An Israeli air strike killed at least 13 Palestinians at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, medics said on Tuesday.
They said that dozens of people were also wounded in the Israeli strike that hit the Al-Hurreya School in the Zeitoun neighborhood, one of the oldest suburbs of Gaza City.
Later on Tuesday, an Israeli air strike on a house also in Zeitoun suburb killed seven people and wounded others, medics said. Another strike killed at least one man in the southern city of Rafah, raising the number of Palestinians killed by Israel on Tuesday to 21.
Netanyahu will respond to ‘any violation’ of ceasefire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was ready to implement a ceasefire deal with Lebanon and would “respond forcefully to any violation” by Hezbollah.
In a television address, Netanyahu said he would put the ceasefire accord to his full cabinet later in the evening. Israeli TV reported that the more restricted security cabinet had earlier approved the deal.
“We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory,” he said.
“In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action. Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively.”
He added that there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire -- to focus on Iran, replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest, and finally to isolate Hamas, the militant group that triggered war in the region when it launched an attack on Israel from Gaza last year.
He said Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and allied to Hamas, was considerably weaker than it had been at the start of the conflict.
“We have set it back decades, eliminated ... its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralised thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border,” he said.
Netanyahu to present ceasefire plan to cabinet
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed a US plan for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in a significant breakthrough to resolving the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Mr Netanyahu said he would present the plan - widely expected to include a 60-day ceasefire - to his full cabinet for approval tonight.
Addressing Israel, he said: “Hezbollah is no longer the same it has gone back dozens of years - we have killed Nasrallah, we have killed all senior commanders in the organisation we have destroyed many missiles and rockets.
We also destroyed the infrastructure of terror that has been built for many years near our borders. The ground is trembling in Lebanon
“That is why tonight I will bring to the cabinet approval an outline for a ceasefire in Lebanon - the duration of the ceasefire will depend of what is happening.”
Antony Blinken defends Beirut attack, says ‘missiles going in both directions’ daily
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said both sides in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict were exchanging daily missile fire when asked about Israel’s bombardment of Beirut at the G7 meeting.
“[It] only underscores how urgent it is to get the ceasefire, and it’s why we’ve been working so intensely on bringing it to a conclusion,” Mr Blinken said.
“That’s the single most important thing to make an immediate difference, to stop the rockets and missiles flying in both directions.”
He acknowledged that Israel was attacking Beirut, “but every single day, Hezbollah has been launching projectiles into Israel and northern Israel, as it’s done virtually every day since October 7 [2023], which is how this problem started.”
Benjamin Netanyahu set to speak at 6pm
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to deliver a national address at 6pm UK time following a meeting with his national security cabinet.
Mr Netanyahu is widely expected to announce a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah after terms were brokered by the US government to end one conflict engulfing the Middle East after the 7 October, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israeli communities plunged the region into a multi-front war.
According to reports, the ceasefire would see Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon, and Lebanese troops would move into the area, a Hezbollah stronghold.
However Israel has warned that it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah should it breach the terms of a deal.
Footage of Israel’s largescale assault on Beirut
Israel is undertaking a massive, deadly bombardment of Beirut ahead of a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.
Seven killed and dozens injured in central Beirut strike, Lebanon says
Lebanon’s ministry of public health says seven people have been killed and 37 others have been injured in an Israeli strike in the Nuwairi area in Beirut.
The update comes as the Israeli Defence Force continues to pummel the Lebanese capital, issueing several evacuation orders for sections of the city over the past few hours ahead of a ceasefire agreement expected to be secured later today.
Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike killed at least 10 Palestinians at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, medics said on Tuesday.
They said that dozens of people were also wounded in the Israeli strike that hit the Al-Hurreya School in the Zeitoun neighborhood, one of the oldest suburbs of Gaza City.
Israeli troops reach Litani River in southern Lebanon
Israeli troops have reached the Litani River area of southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.
In a statement released earlier today, Israeli forces said their 91st Division pursued Hezbollah sites and weapons hauls “in complicated, built-up and mountainous areas in southern Lebanon from which terrorist plots were taken towards the northern settlements.”
“In the area of the Litani river, the battle team of the Alexandroni brigade, including the reserve forces of the 769th brigade, the Golani patrol and the Sheldag unit raided following intelligence indications of many terrorist infrastructures that were hidden along the route of the complex terrain,” the statement said.
Israeli defence minister approves continued operations amid ceasefire talks
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has approved the continuation of the military offensive on the northern front of the conflict as Israeli forces carry out a major bombardment of Beirut and southern Lebanon while facing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire.
Israel earlier said it was carrying out “large scale” airstrikes on Beirut in a major bombardment of the Lebanese capital, releasing footage of its airforce striking 20 targets it said were Hezbollah strongholds.
The IDF also released a lengthy statement in which it claimed to have “eliminated” a Hezbollah commander who had carried out attacks against Israel’s northern settlements.
G7 countries up pressure on Israel to accept ceasefire
Foreign Ministers from the G7 democracies have upped the pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying “now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement.”
In a draft statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Italy, the G7 ministers urged Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Palestinians, and condemned increasing settler violence in the West Bank.
The ministers also condemned recent attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and expressed their support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying it plays a “vital role.”
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