(The Age, SMH, 28/11/2024)
Please God it holds – Mark
Jerusalem: Israel and Hezbollah began a ceasefire on Wednesday in a major step towards ending nearly 14 months of fighting, as a region on edge wonders whether the truce will hold.
Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in Beirut’s southern suburbs, battered over the past two months, but no immediate violations of the ceasefire were reported. Israel has said it will attack if the Lebanese militant group breaks the agreement.
Long-displaced residents started returning to their homes, with hundreds of cars making their way into southern Lebanon amid the celebrations, defying a warning from the Israeli military to stay away from previously evacuated areas.
The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to 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. Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River.
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