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SvennoJ 5 hours ago
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Lack of detail in Israel, Hezbollah ceasefire deal raises ‘more questions than answers’

We got a few more details from a senior Biden administration official about an hour ago, confirming that the Israeli military will have a phased withdrawal as Hezbollah withdraws north and the Lebanese military moves south.

But we have a lot of questions.

I think there are more questions than answers, particularly with that contention from the Israelis that they can restart the war whenever they want, if they feel that the terms are not being met.

The senior administration official said governing all of this will be an expansion of the existing tripartite mechanism which was put in place with the UN resolution in 2006 [Resolution 1701] – that was the UN, Lebanon and Israel.

France and the US will now join that, and they seem to suggest that there will be this sort of real-time monitoring and conflict resolution system that will be under way to prevent any confusion and to immediately resolve any issues with either side, or any side thinking that the terms of this deal are not being met.

There really was a sense of [the administration official] simply not wanting to entertain the idea that Israel could suddenly decide that, well, ‘we’re going back in’.

When asked a specific question, that it didn’t seem the administration official was terribly prepared for – ‘What if Hezbollah thinks that Israel has violated the deal?’ – there was this very waffly answer that seemed to suggest that Lebanon would have sovereignty in the south to repel any Israeli attack.

It wasn’t very clear. But they’re still focusing on the fact that a deal has been done.

UN chief says UN ready to support ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah

Antonio Guterres hopes the “agreement can put an end to the violence, destruction and suffering the people of both [Israel and Lebanon] have been experiencing,” his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General urges the parties to fully respect and swiftly implement all of their commitments made under this agreement,” Dujarric added.

Guterres said that the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, and the UN special coordinator for Lebanon were ready to support the implementation of the agreement. He also urged both parties to fully implement Security Council resolution 1701.

The 2006 resolution calls for the Lebanese armed forces and UN peacekeepers to be the only military presence between the border with Israel and the Litani River, about 30km (18 miles) to the north.


WHO chief welcomes Lebanon ceasefire; renews calls for peace in Gaza

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the latest escalation in Lebanon “has been particularly destructive to the health system”.

“We hope [the ceasefire] will be implemented immediately and translate into a lasting peace in Lebanon, and trigger urgent action to bring peace to Gaza and across the region,” the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a post on X.

“Civilians in Gaza are suffering immensely and need a life-saving ceasefire, full scale humanitarian assistance and peace now before it is too late,” he added.

Israel has killed at least 208 health sector workers and carried out more than 280 attacks on emergency medical facilities in Lebanon over the past year.