Men carry Hezbollah flags and a picture depicting late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as they drive past damaged buildings at the entrance of Beirut’s southern suburbs, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began at 7.30 am IST on Wednesday (Nov. 27, 2024) appeared to be holding under a deal brokered by the U.S. and France. Following the announcement of the truce, people in both countries started returning to homes in the border area shattered by 14 months of fighting.

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire deal and thanked both the US and France for their efforts.

In the first statement by Hezbollah’s operations centre since the truce was announced, the group made no direct mention of the ceasefire and vowed to continue its resistance.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the ceasefire was “the first ray of hope” in months of Middle East conflict.

The Blue Line was set by the UN in 2000 after the end of Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon and now serves as a de facto border between the two countries.

What is UNSC resolution 1701?

The UN Security Council resolution 1701 is the agreement that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006 and it stipulates that the only armed groups in the area south of Lebanon’s Litani River should be the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces (UN Interim Force in Lebanon – UNIFIL). It also prohibits Israel from encroaching on Lebanese territory by land, sea or air.

Present situation in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s army, entrusted with ensuring the ceasefire lasts, said it had begun deploying additional troops south of the Litani River into a region heavily bombarded by Israel. The river meets the sea about 30 km (20 miles) north of the Israeli border.

Israel also struck eastern cities and towns and the southern suburbs of Beirut, and Israeli troops pushed around 6 km (4 miles) into Lebanon in ground incursions launched in September. Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can remain in Lebanon for 60 days.

Israel-Lebanon conflict

The ceasefire aims to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed at least 3,768 people in Lebanon since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Diplomatic efforts will now turn to shattered Gaza, where Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israeli communities. However, there were no hopes of peace returning any time soon to the Palestinian enclave.

(With inputs from Reuters, Graphic News, and AP)

Beirut:

Lebanon’s health ministry said Saturday seven people including two children were killed in Israeli strikes on the southern city of Tyre a day earlier, with rescuers still searching for missing people under the rubble.

“Israeli enemy strikes on the city of Tyre killed seven people including two girls, and injured 46 others,” the ministry said, adding that body parts had been found and will be “identified with DNA testing”.

It added that rubble was being cleared following the strikes as part of ongoing efforts to locate missing persons.

The ministry had on Friday reported a toll of three killed and 30 injured in the strikes.

AFP photos showed rescuers carrying bodies on stretchers amid the wreckage, as rubble and twisted metal were strewn across the street.

Earlier on Saturday, Lebanon’s official National News Agency had said the deadly strikes targeted three buildings in the coastal city, causing “massive damage to dozens of homes”.

The NNA also said “enemy fighter jets” destroyed two heritage houses in the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

Hezbollah said on Saturday it targeted Israeli troops, locations and military sites including a base and an area north of Haifa, in addition to downing an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over a south Lebanon village.

Israel intensified its air campaign on Lebanon in September and later sent in ground troops after a year of cross-border clashes.

The escalation came after nearly a year of low-intensity, cross-border attacks by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.

More than 3,110 people have been killed in Lebanon since the cross-border exchanges began, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jerusalem:

Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system has intercepted thousands of rockets since it went into operation in 2011, providing the country with crucial cover during times of conflict.

It has been heavily relied upon to protect military and civilian sites from frequent barrages of rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s air defences were in operation on Tuesday night when Iran fired missiles at Israel in what it said was a response to Israel’s killing of Tehran-backed militant leaders.

Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi said Tuesday that the Iranian barrage had been blunted partly by “a very strong aerial defence array”.

The system had also intercepted more than 200 drones and missiles launched by Iran on April 13.

Israel initially developed the Iron Dome alone after the 2006 Lebanon War and was later joined by the United States, which has provided its defence know-how and billions of dollars in financial support for the program.

The system has an interception rate of around 90 per cent, according to Israeli defence firm Rafael, which helped design it. 

Here’s how it works:

Three-part system

The Iron Dome is one part of Israel’s multi-tiered missile defence systems and is designed to intercept short-range rockets at a distance of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles). 

Each Iron Dome battery is made up of three main sections: a radar detection system, a computer to calculate the incoming rocket’s trajectory, and a launcher that fires interceptors if the rocket is deemed likely to hit a built-up or strategic area.

It sits alongside other missile defence systems like the Arrow, which counters ballistic missiles, and David’s Sling, for medium-range rocket or missile attacks.

How much does it cost?

Each Iron Dome interceptor costs $40,000 to $50,000 to produce, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

The think tank estimated that a complete system, including the radar, computer and three to four launchers — each containing up to 20 interceptors — costs around $100 million to produce. 

Israel has 10 such systems in operation, according to Raytheon, which helps manufacture the Iron Dome. Other estimates have put the figure slightly higher. 

Bipartisan US support

The Iron Dome is one of the strategic pillars of the US-Israeli alliance that has been followed by successive Democratic and Republican administrations.

In August 2019 the US Army signed a contract to purchase two Iron Dome batteries to enhance its own short-range missile defence capabilities.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A sharp escalation in border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has sent Western nations scrambling to update contingency plans for evacuations from the region.

Cyprus, the closest EU member to the Middle East, is a likely hub, having processed around 60,000 people fleeing the Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006.

Neighbouring Turkey has offered facilities as well.

Operations-wise, most contingency planning seems to be by sea, enabling movement of larger groups, but that will be defined by the security situation, a source familiar with the process told Reuters. It takes about 10 hours to Cyprus by sea, or 40 minutes by plane from Beirut.

Here are some details on contingency planning:

Australia

Authorities have made contingency plans that could include evacuation by sea, though it has urged an estimated 15,000 of its citizens in Lebanon to leave while Beirut airport remains open.

Canada

News reports from Canada suggest it will cooperate with Australia in evacuating nationals by sea. The plan involves contracting a commercial vessel to transport 1,000 people out each day, The Toronto Star reported.

United Kingdom

Britain has called for its nationals to leave immediately. It has moved around 700 troops to Cyprus, bolstering its presence in the area where it already has military assets, including two Royal Navy ships. It also has two military bases on the island.

United States

The US has ordered the deployment of dozens of troops to Cyprus to help prepare for scenarios, including an evacuation of Americans from Lebanon.

Portugal

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro on Wednesday advised against travel to Lebanon. The country has a plan to evacuate Portuguese citizens living there in cooperation with partner countries in the EU, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following Israeli strike, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre, Lebanon September 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

World leaders lined up at the United Nations on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) to call on Israel to refrain from a full-scale war in Lebanon, with the organization’s chief warning the situation was on the “brink.”

The UN General Assembly, the high point of the international diplomatic calendar, comes after Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes had killed 558 people— 50 of them children.

“Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even though the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in his farewell address to the global body.

“In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely,” Mr. Biden said ahead of an emergency UN Security Council session on Lebanon planned for Wednesday.

Mr. Biden’s remarks drew disappointment from Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib who said they were “not promising” and “would not solve the Lebanese problem,” as he estimated that the number of people displaced by Israel’s strikes has likely soared to reach half a million.

“We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said when he opened the gathering.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said his country was “not eager” for a ground invasion of Lebanon.

“We don’t want to send our boys to fight in a foreign country,” he said.

‘End this war’

It is unclear what progress can be made to defuse the situation in Lebanon, with efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza— which Israel has relentlessly pounded since October 2023— coming to nothing.

Mr. Biden on Tuesday pushed again for an elusive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, telling the global body it was time to “end this war.”

Mediator Qatar accused Israel of obstructing Gaza ceasefire talks, with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani saying “there is no Israeli partner for peace” under the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

But he added: “We will continue our efforts of mediation to resolve the disputes through peaceful means.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of dragging the entire region “into war.”

“Not only children but also the UN system is dying in Gaza,” Mr. Erdogan said in a scathing speech.

Mr. Guterres cautioned against “the possibility of transforming Lebanon (into) another Gaza,” calling the situation in the Palestinian territory a “non-stop nightmare.”

European Council President Charles Michel said that Israel had the right to exist and defend itself but without inflicting “collective punishment” on civilians living in areas targeted by its military.

President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran— which backs Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza— condemned “senseless and incomprehensible” inaction by the UN against Israel.

‘Charade of hypocrisy’

British Foreign Minister David Lammy also sounded the alarm over the escalating violence in Lebanon.

“I am very worried about the risk of escalation, and this breaking into a wider regional conflict,” he told AFP as Britain announced it was deploying military units to Cyprus to assist with any evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon.

Responding to criticism of Israel, Mr. Danon called the General Assembly debate an “annual charade of hypocrisy.”

Since last year’s annual gathering, when Sudan’s civil war and Russia’s Ukraine invasion dominated, the world has faced an explosion of crises.

The October 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people and prompted a military response in Gaza that authorities say has killed at least 41,467 people.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Violence has raged across multiple fronts in the Middle East since the crisis erupted, with the conflict exposing deep divisions at the UN.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas took his seat alongside the Palestinian delegation, placed in alphabetical order in the General Assembly for the first time on Tuesday after the delegation received upgraded privileges in May.

At the rostrum, Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday ruled out the forced displacement by Israel of Palestinians to his country, which he said would be a “war crime.”

Ukraine was also on the agenda Tuesday with President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing a UN Security Council meeting on the Russian invasion.

“Russia can only be forced into peace, and that is exactly what’s needed— forcing Russia into peace,” Zelenskyy said.