Jerusalem, April 17 (IANS) A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday, following an earlier announcement by US President Donald Trump.
The truce aims to end more than a month of deadly escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which has claimed over 2,000 lives.
In a statement, Israel’s military said that it struck more than 380 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the past day, including militants, launchers and headquarters, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom claimed that Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel during the final hours before the ceasefire went into effect, resulting in three injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement that Israel will maintain a 10-km security zone in southern Lebanon during the ceasefire period.
He cited security needs, rejected withdrawal, and highlighted a historic opportunity for peace between Israel and Lebanon, alongside a demand to disarm Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Trump said Thursday he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House “over the next week or two.”
“I think we’re going to have a meeting,” Trump told reporters at the White House, noting the talks would be the first in 44 years.
“I think we will have an agreement between Lebanon, and they’re going to take care of Hezbollah,” Trump said.
The remarks came hours after he announced on social media that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.
The ceasefire is expected to pause hostilities that escalated when Israel opened a new front targeting Iran-affiliated Hezbollah.
Lebanon is not directly engaged in a formal war with Israel, but Hezbollah controls large parts of southern Lebanon and has carried out attacks on Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes.
Unable to rein in Hezbollah, Lebanon has borne the brunt of Israeli retaliation.
The durability of the ceasefire is likely to depend on Hezbollah refraining from further attacks.
While Hezbollah is not formally part of the agreement, media reports indicated that the group may halt attacks if Israel also exercises restraint.
–IANS
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