Israel And Hezbollah ceasefire: A step toward lasting peace

CGTN Europe

The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has begun and, so far, appears to be holding.   The deal, brokered by the United States and France, marks the end of more than a year of fighting.   President Joe Biden stated that it is intended as a permanent cessation of hostilities.  #Israel #Ceasefire #Lebanon

Transcript

00:00In southern Lebanon, people return to their abandoned homes, car horns sounding and some

00:07waving Hezbollah flags.

00:10Gunfire rings out, not in war this time, but in celebration.

00:16Lebanon's caretaker, Prime Minister, says Lebanese people have the right to return to

00:20their land and live in peace.

00:24On this day, the 1,000-mile journey begins to rebuild what was destroyed and to complete

00:30strengthening the role of legitimate institutions, at the forefront of which is the army, on

00:35which we place great hopes to extend the state's authority over the whole nation and strengthen

00:41its presence in the wounded south.

00:44Under the deal, Hezbollah will remove its fighters and weapons from the area south of

00:49the Litani River, withdrawing to the so-called Blue Line, defined under the U.N. Security

00:55Resolution 1701, agreed in 2006.

00:59Israel will also withdraw its forces from the same area, and the Lebanese army will

01:04assume control.

01:05U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants lasting peace.

01:10This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.

01:15What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed.

01:19I emphasize, will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.

01:23Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire was militarily strategic.

01:30Why should we have a ceasefire now?

01:32For three main reasons.

01:34The first reason is to focus on the Iranian threat, and I will not expand on that.

01:39The second is to give our forces a breather and replenish stocks.

01:42And the third reason for having a ceasefire is to separate the fronts and isolate Hamas.

01:48He added that Israel would not hesitate to strike if Hezbollah breaks the deal in any

01:54way.

01:55Hezbollah says the group would defend itself from any attacks by Israel.

01:59While this deal could be viewed as a diplomatic success, there is no sign that it will do

02:04anything to change the conflict in Gaza, where civilian casualties continue to mount as Israel

02:11battles Hamas.

02:13Li Jianhua, CGTN.

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