More from PM Netanyahu’s TV address on Hezbollah ceasefire
The deal potentially clears the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year. It’s expected to take effect on Wednesday.
“We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory,” Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Israeli people.
“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 said Hezbollah – which is backed by Iran and allied to Hamas – is considerably weaker than it was at the start of the conflict in October 2023.
“We have set it back decades, eliminated … its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border,” he said.
“We targeted strategic objectives across Lebanon, shaking Beirut to its core.”
Netanyahu dances around stated war goals after ceasefire announcement
Netanyahu set the bar very high at the beginning of the war. He was talking about dismantling, about completely annihilating Hezbollah, that it would cease to exist and only then would conditions be ripe for a halt in fighting.
Now, he has walked that back.
When you look at the agreement that was reached, you have a repeat of the UN Security Council resolution. In no article does it say Israel has the right to attack. It is basically saying that Israel will stop attacking Lebanon and Hezbollah and other armed groups would also do the same.
Netanyahu delivered what he said he wouldn’t be happy with at the beginning of this war. This war has been very costly in Israel – it has been felt. People feel traumatised and they do feel let down.
This Israeli government is intact, the support for the agreement was almost unanimous.
Despite trying to project confidence, Netanyahu came off as ‘insecure’
This was a defensive statement by Israel’s leader. This was an insecure prime minister trying to project an image of bombastic security. I’m not sure he succeeded. I’m not sure the Israeli public for whom this statement was directed are convinced.
He tried to project an image of confidence while at the same time not helping to sound insecure about what he’s doing, knowing all too well that he promised a lot at the beginning – the total destruction of Hezbollah and transforming the Middle East.
But he ended up agreeing to a ceasefire while Hezbollah remains intact and continues to launch rockets against Israel.
‘We are in the midst of a temporary, fragile truce’
Here we have a prime minister that says Israel will be able to resume the war at will and at the site of any movement by Hezbollah that Israel thinks poses a danger to it. So we are in the midst of a very temporary, fragile truce that Netanyahu was forced into.
We cannot overestimate the fragility of the ceasefire, judging from some of the reports that Israel will maintain freedom of action in Lebanon and Israel insists that Hezbollah dismantles and leaves southern Lebanon before any Israeli soldier deploys out of Lebanon.
This is going to be a rocky road ahead in the next days and weeks.
Israel’s far-right Security Minister Ben-Gvir unhappy with truce
Not everyone in Israel supports a ceasefire, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a right-wing member of Netanyahu’s government.
The agreement does not ensure the return of Israelis to their homes in the country’s north and the Lebanese army does not have the ability to overcome Hezbollah, he said on X.
“In order to leave Lebanon, we must have our own security belt,” Ben-Gvir said.
Israel demands effective UN enforcement of an eventual ceasefire with Lebanon and will show “zero tolerance” towards any infraction, Defence Minister Israel Katz said earlier.
