JERUSALEM (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Israel and Hezbollah’s ceasefire agreement “good news” and expressed hope that the pause in more than 13 months of fighting will be catalyst to also end the war in Gaza.
Biden made his comments in a Rose Garden speech. He stressed that Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce.
Biden added that the deal between Israel and Hezbollah “was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Meanwhile, in the hours leading up to the Israel Security Cabinet meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah in the final hours before any ceasefire takes hold.
Israel's security Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement late Tuesday after it was presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, but neither he nor Netanyahu have proposed a postwar solution for the Palestinian territory, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.
Still, any halt to the fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas and exchanged direct fire with Israel on two occasions earlier this year.