A ceasefire of ten days between Lebanon and Israel came into effect on the morning of Friday, April 17, after being announced by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. This ceasefire follows a month and a half of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Shortly after it came into effect, the Lebanese army mentioned on its X account that “a number of violations of the agreement, several acts of Israeli aggression have been recorded, not to mention the sporadic bombings that have affected several villages,” as reported by France 24. “In response to the violation of the ceasefire by the occupying army,” Hezbollah announced they had “bombarded a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the town of Khiam” in southern Lebanon.
Donald Trump announced that he wished to organize a meeting at the White House between the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Lebanon was drawn into the war in the Middle East at the beginning of March when Hezbollah targeted Israel to support Iran against the Israeli-American offensive. Despite a truce agreed between Israel, the United States, and Iran on April 8, the Israeli state continued its strikes against Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah, an Islamist movement funded and armed by Iran. According to authorities, more than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli airstrikes and about one million people have been displaced, representing a fifth of the country’s population.
A ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel welcomed by France
The Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, welcomed the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel on Friday, April 17. He called on “all actors” to fully respect it and expressed hope that “this ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations,” as reported by Franceinfo. During an interview on TF1 on Friday morning, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, emphasized the need to “do everything to ensure the ceasefire is respected.” “It is essential that we succeed, not only in respecting this ceasefire but also in the discussions currently taking place with Iran, the United States, and Israel, Lebanon must be part of those discussions,” she added. For her, it is necessary to “obtain a peace agreement that concerns the entire region.”
In a statement released on Friday, April 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the temporary ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel was “a necessary and welcome first step to provide relief to the populations.” Emmanuel Macron asked Hezbollah to “renounce weapons” and urged Israel to “respect Lebanese sovereignty” and “stop the war.” Additionally, the President expressed his concern that the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel “could already be compromised by the continuation of military operations.”
