Tel Aviv [Israel], November 27: The Israeli prime minister says he is asking his ministers to approve a ceasefire agreement to end the current war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a TV address, Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was ready for a ceasefire but would "respond forcefully to any violation" of a deal.
The Iran-backed armed group and Israel have traded cross-border fire since October 2023. But fighting escalated in late September when Israel dramatically intensified aerial bombardments and launched a limited ground invasion.
The conflict has been Lebanon's deadliest in decades, killing more than 3,823 people say local officials.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu said how long the ceasefire lasted would depend on what happened in Lebanon.
He also said ending the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel's northern neighbour, would allow the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to increase pressure on Hamas in Gaza and focus on "the Iranian threat".
The US, a key ally of Israel, has led the charge in negotiating a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
Netanyahu still requires approval from his security cabinet but this is expected to be granted as early as Tuesday evening.
It is expected there will be an immediate 60-day ceasefire which will see both Israeli forces and Hezbollah's armed presence withdraw from Lebanon's south, the BBC's US partner CBS says.
Hezbollah fighters and weapons will be removed from the south of the Litani River, a boundary roughly 30km (19 miles) north of the border, that was established during the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
France, which administered Lebanon for more than 20 years in the last century, and is a long-term ally, is also expected to be involved through the monitoring of the truce.
Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel and many Western countries - after almost a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza.
It says it wants to ensure the safe return of about 60,000 residents of northern Israeli areas displaced by rocket attacks, which Hezbollah launched in support of Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The war has been devastating for Lebanon, where, in addition to the 3,823 people killed and 15,859 injured, one million residents have been displaced in areas where Hezbollah holds sway.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
The World Bank estimates $8.5bn (£6.8bn) in economic losses and damage in Lebanon. Recovery will take time, and it is unknown how this will be funded.
Hezbollah, too, has been devastated. Many of its leaders have been killed, including long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah, in an IDF strike on Beirut on 27 September. A week later Israel also killed his presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine, in another strike.
With much of its infrastructure also damaged, how Hezbollah will look after the war remains unclear. The group has been severely weakened but it has not been destroyed.
In Lebanon, it is also more than a militia: it is a political party with representation in parliament, and a social organisation, with significant support among Shia Muslims.
Hezbollah's opponents will probably see it as an opportunity to limit its influence - it was often described as "a state within a state" in Lebanon before the conflict - and many fear this could lead to internal violence.
Since intensifying the fighting in September, Israel has carried out hundreds of daily strikes in Lebanon, targeting what it said were Hezbollah areas in the south, east and in the capital Beirut.
As reports emerged that Netanyahu was discussing a ceasefire deal with his cabinet on Tuesday, the IDF continued its strikes - targeting Beirut with strikes that killed at least seven people.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation
