The Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire: What to Know

A cease-fire meant to end the deadliest war in decades between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah officially took effect early Wednesday, less than a day after President Biden announced the deal and Israel approved its terms.

Thousands of Lebanese began to return to their homes in the first hours of the cease-fire. The fighting has killed thousands in Lebanon and around 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers. The conflict has also displaced about one million people in Lebanon, in addition to doing vast physical damage there, and about 60,000 people in Israel.

Lebanon’s government agreed on Wednesday morning to the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed it on Tuesday night and argued that a truce would allow Israel to rebuild its weapon stockpiles while it works to isolate Hamas, the Hezbollah ally that Israel is fighting in Gaza.

A 60-day truce

• The agreement, mediated by American and French diplomats, calls for Israel and Hezbollah to observe a 60-day truce.

• During that period, Israel would withdraw its forces gradually from southern Lebanon.

• Hezbollah forces would move north away from the Israeli border and the Lebanese military will send more troops to Lebanon’s south.

• The withdrawals would effectively create a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, along the Israeli border.

• If the truce holds though the 60-day period, negotiators hope the agreement will become permanent.

How will it be enforced?

Under the terms of the deal, a U.N. peacekeeping force, along with the Lebanese Army, will keep the peace in the border zone, as envisioned in a 2006 United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the previous Israel-Hezbollah war but that was never fully carried out.

The cease-fire will be overseen by several countries, including the United States and France, as well as by the United Nations.