We are ready to implement Israel-Lebanon ceasefire – Prime Minister Netanyahu says after security cabinet votes to end war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday November 26, that he is ready to implement a ceasefire deal with Lebanon and would respond forcefully to any violation by Hezbollah, declaring Israel would retain “complete military freedom of action”.

Israeli TV reported that the Israeli security cabinet had earlier approved the deal.

The accord, will clear the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, and is expected to take effect on Wednesday.

“We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory,” Netanyahu said.

“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, was considerably weaker than it had been at the start of the conflict.

“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.”

The Lebanon ceasefire agreement requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon’s army to deploy in the region, officials say. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.

Israeli approval of the deal would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to four senior Lebanese sources.

A Hezbollah parliament member in Lebanon, Hassan Fadlallah, said the country faced “dangerous, sensitive hours” during the wait for a possible ceasefire announcement.