Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire due to be approved ‘within hours’ as Netanyahu presents deal to his cabinet

By Flaminia Luck

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is set to be approved ‘within hours’ as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents the deal to his cabinet.

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Mr Netanyahu said: "It's not the same Hezbollah any more. We've attacked strategic targets throughout Lebanon. We pushed Hezbollah back decades.

"That is why I will bring before the cabinet tonight a plan for a ceasefire.

"If Hezbollah tries to attack us, we will attack."

Under the deal, he said, Hezbollah will not be able to rearm and that if the group does, Israel will "respond severely", adding that "an agreement can be enforced and we will enforce it."

Mr Netanyahu also pledged to allow families in Northern Israel to return to their homes.

It comes after hours of talks by Israel's defence council over whether to accept the deal. Lebanese officials said ahead of the meeting that Hezbollah supported it.

The deal would be a major step towards ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.

It is unclear when the ceasefire will take effect.

Read more: Israel carries out airstrike on Beirut ahead of expected ceasefire deal

Read more: Israel bombards Beirut as leaders prepare to vote on ceasefire with Hezbollah

It comes hours after explosions were seen in at least 10 locations in the Lebanese capital less than 30 minutes after the Israeli Defence Force issued a warning.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs of the capital's south, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where the United Nations peacekeeping mission, known as Unifil, is based.

At least seven people were killed in the strikes with a further 37 injured, Lebanon's health ministry confirmed.

"Following the sirens that sounded between 16:44 (14:44 GMT) and 16:45 in the Haifa Bay area, five projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were intercepted by the IAF (Israeli air force)," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

The IDF claimed eight fighter jets carried out strikes on what it alleges were a Hezbollah aerial defence unit centre, an intelligence centre, a command centre and a weapons storage facility.

Following the strike, G7 foreign ministers called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Lebanon.

"We support the ongoing negotiation for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah," the ministers said in a statement.

"Now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

If signed, questions remain over the practical enforcement of the deal, with both sides warning they would launch strikes if its terms are breached.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if Unifil does not provide "effective enforcement" of the deal.

"If you don't act, we will act, and with great force," he said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

"The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the US-French-brokered deal.

"There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart," Mr Borrell told reporters in Fiuggi, Italy, on the sidelines of a G7 meeting.