What happened
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday urged his governing cabinet to approve a ceasefire between his country and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The announcement that Israel was moving forward with the proposal came hours after a series of Israeli air strikes that left dozens dead and injured near downtown Beirut. The agreement came into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday (10 p.m. ET Tuesday).
Who said what
Netanyahu announced his support for the proposal in a televised address that "appeared to be aimed primarily at rebuffing right-wing criticism of the deal in Israel," said The New York Times. The ceasefire is "not the end of the war" between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, said The Jerusalem Post, and Netanyahu and other officials emphasized that Israel was reserving the right to "respond to any threat." The prime minister is putting his weight behind the ceasefire to "focus on Iran, replenish depleted arms supplies, give the army a rest, and finally isolate Hamas" as the war in Gaza rages on, said Reuters.
What next?
The ceasefire was "very fragile" and would be "very difficult to maintain and sustain in the long run," Alon Pinkas, a former ambassador and consul general of Israel in New York, said to Al Jazeera. Hezbollah, which includes a broad social services organization and political wing represented in the Lebanese parliament, will "remain active" by "helping displaced Lebanese return to their villages and rebuilding areas destroyed by Israeli strikes," senior Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah said to Reuters.
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