WASHINGTON, 27 Nov. - (ANA) - Joe Biden has said the latest ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel could be used as a blueprint to end the war in Gaza.

 

The new agreement, which came into effect at 4am local time (2am GMT) on Wednesday, will see Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days, with Lebanese forces handed back control of their territory.

 

Lebanon’s army said on Wednesday it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country following the ceasefire, but it urged residents of border villages to delay returning home until the Israeli military withdrew.

 

In a speech from the White House’s Rose Garden, Mr Biden said: “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.

 

“What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”

 

Addressing Hamas’s ongoing war with Israel in Gaza, he added: “Just as the Lebanese people deserve a future of security and prosperity, so do the people of Gaza. They too deserve an end of the fighting and displacement. The people of Gaza have been through hell.”

 

Hamas has refused to negotiate in good faith for months over a peace deal, the US president said. But that could change if the terror group agrees to free hostages it has held captive for over a year

 

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, launched Israel’s cross-border raid into southern Lebanon on October 1 in an escalation of the Jewish state’s conflict with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group.

 

At the time he pledged to create a buffer zone for residents of northern Israel to return to their homes in the area due to rocket attacks by the terrorists.

 

On Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu declared: “Hezbollah is no longer the same. It has gone back decades.

 

“We have destroyed their infrastructure of terror which has been built near our border. Just three months ago all of this sounded like science fiction but it is not science fiction. We have done it.”

 

Both Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu said Israel would strike back if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the agreement, which was brokered by the US and French governments.

 

The Israeli leader said the main reasons for accepting the agreement was to focus its firepower on Iran, Hamas in Gaza and replenish its depleted arms supplies and allow the armed forces to rest.

 

A senior US administration official said: “This is a process that cannot happen overnight or in several days, and therefore there is this period to prevent any vacuums from being formed.”

 

During its cross-border raid, Israel destroyed rafts of terrorist infrastructure, including tunnels that could have been used to launch an October 7-style massacre, Mr Biden said.

 

This will not be allowed to be rebuilt in the buffer zone established under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

 

Any breaches of the deal will be adjudicated by American and French officials, who will also work with Lebanon’s defence forces to bring them up to scratch.

 

However, no US combat forces will be dispatched to Lebanon or Israel to enforce the pact, Mr Biden said.

 

Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, welcomed the deal, in a hint it will survive the White House succession.

 

“I’m glad to see concrete steps towards de-escalation in the Middle East,” Mr Waltz wrote on X.

 

“But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos and terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism.”

 

Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s Prime Minister, said: “Today’s long overdue ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah will provide some measure of relief to the civilian populations of Lebanon and Northern Israel, who have suffered unimaginable consequences during the last few months of devastating conflict and bloodshed.”

 

He added: “The UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East. We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid.”   - (ANA) -

 

 

AB/ANA/27 November 2024 - - -