Netanyahu Announces Lebanon Cease-Fire Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he is ready to implement a cease-fire deal with Lebanon and would "respond forcefully to any violation" by Hezbollah.

In a television address, Netanyahu said he would put the ceasefire accord to his full cabinet later in the evening. Israeli TV reported that the more restricted security cabinet had earlier approved the deal.

"We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. Together, we will continue until victory," he 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 added that there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire -- to focus on Iran, replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest, and finally to isolate Hamas, the militant group that triggered war in the region when it launched an attack on Israel from Gaza last year.

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."

Israel's approval of the deal would pave the way for a cease-fire declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to four senior Lebanese sources who spoke to Reuters on Monday.

Despite the diplomatic breakthrough, hostilities raged as Israel dramatically ramped up its campaign of air strikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.

However, there was no indication that a truce in Lebanon would hasten a cease-fire and hostage-release deal in devastated Gaza, where Israel is battling Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Lebanon cease-fire 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.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.

Israel demands effective U.N. enforcement of an eventual cease-fire with Lebanon and will show "zero tolerance" toward any infraction, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

In the hours before the announcement, Israeli strikes smashed more of Beirut's densely-populated southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. The Israeli military said one barrage of strikes had hit 20 targets in the city in just 120 seconds, killing at least seven people and injuring 37, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Israel issued its biggest evacuation warning yet, telling civilians to leave 20 locations. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a "widespread attack" on Hezbollah targets across the city.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah has kept up rocket fire into Israel.

The U.N. rights chief voiced concern about the escalation of bloodshed in Lebanon and his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since going on the offensive against the group in September, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and pounding areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway.