Israel’s Netanyahu signals support for ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah – National

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*******’s Netanyahu signals support for ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah – National

******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a ******* States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as ******** warplanes struck across Lebanon, ******** at least 23 people.

The ******** military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, ******** ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.

In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.

Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect *******’s war against ****** in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.

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The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with ***** that ******* 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 ******** drones buzzed loudly overhead.

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

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1:41
Powerful ********** rocks Beirut suburb as ******* carries out airstrikes in Lebanon

Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the *******-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between ******* and Hezbollah’s patron, Iran.

The 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 ******** troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troopsand U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the ******* States would monitor all sides’ compliance.

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But implementation ******** a major question mark. ******* has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. *******’s Defense Minister ******* Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn’t provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.

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“If you don’t act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with U.N. special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

The ********* Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that *******’s security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.

“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon’s request.

Bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs continues

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

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An ******** 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 ******* and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

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

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4:55
*******-Hezbollah: ‘No excuse’ for not implementing ceasefire, EU chief says

Earlier, ******** jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country’s only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based.

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******** military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.

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

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Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the ******** military said it ******* a local Hezbollah commander.

The ******** 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 (miles) from the ******** border.

Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed

Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.

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A ceasefire between ******* and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between ******* and Iran. It’s not clear how the ceasefire will affect the *******-****** war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.

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

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

More than 3,760 people have been ******* by ******** ***** 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. ******* says it has ******* more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.

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1:35
*******-Gaza: U.S. vetoes UN Security Council resolution on ceasefire

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

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After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or ******** an agreement.

“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”

—Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporters Lujain Jo and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.

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