Starmer welcomes ceasefire deal 

PM says that UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. In a post on X, the Prime Minister shared the announcement of the deal. 

In his statement, Starmer noted that the ceasefire was “long overdue” and “will provide some measure of relief to the civilian populations of Lebanon and Northern Israel, who have suffered unimaginable consequences during the last few months of devastating conflict and bloodshed”. 

Starmer in his statement gave a call for the deal to turn into a “lasting political solution in Lebanon, based on Security Council Resolution 1701, that will allow civilians to return permanently to their homes and for communities on both sides of the border to rebuild”. 

He said that the UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East. 

In his statement, he also brought attention towards Gaza and said, “We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid”. 

The statement by Keir Starmer came moments after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden in separate speeches announced that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire deal on Tuesday (local time), after months of skirmishes and thousands of casualties. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, also stressed that the “length” of this ceasefire will depend on “what happens in Lebanon.” 

“With the United States’ full understanding, we maintain full freedom of military action. If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack”, Netanyahu noted. 

Israel and Lebanon have been engaged in a prolonged conflict that began on October 8 last year, when Hezbollah attacked Israeli-controlled territory in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza, as reported by CNN. 

This incident sparked a series of tit-for-tat border attacks, which eventually escalated into a major military offensive launched by Israel in mid-September. 

The conflict has seen a ground invasion by Israel, resulting in the deaths of several Hezbollah leaders, including one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, and thousands of injuries from an attack involving exploding pagers. The situation remains volatile, with ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.  

There appeared to be lingering disagreement over whether Israel would have the right to strike Hezbollah if it believed the militants had violated the agreement, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted was part of the deal but which Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have rejected. 

Israel’s security Cabinet approved the US-France-brokered ceasefire agreement after Netanyahu presented it, his office said. US President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

The Biden administration spent much of this year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza but the talks repeatedly sputtered to a halt. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East without saying how. 

Still, any halt to the fighting in Lebanon is expected to reduce the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and Hamas and exchanged direct fire with Israel on two occasions earlier this year. 

Israel says it will ‘attack with might’ if Hezbollah breaks truce 

Netanyahu presented the ceasefire proposal to Cabinet ministers after a televised address in which he listed accomplishments against Israel’s enemies across the region. He said a ceasefire with Hezbollah would further isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus on its main enemy, Iran. 

“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said. “For every violation, we will attack with might.” 

The ceasefire deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance. 

Biden said Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce, but that the deal “was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” 

Netanyahu’s office said Israel appreciated the US efforts in securing the deal but “reserves the right to act against every threat to its security.” 

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire and described it as a crucial step toward stability and the return of displaced people. 

Hezbollah has said it accepts the proposal, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday it had not seen the agreement in its final form. 

“After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. 

“We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state,” he said, referring to Israel’s demand for freedom of action. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” 

Warplanes bombard Beirut and its southern suburbs 

Even as ceasefire efforts gained momentum in recent days, Israel continued to strike what it called Hezbollah targets across Lebanon while the militants fired rockets, missiles and drones across the border. 

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