By Athena Papakosta

Cease fire in Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollahafter a year of fighting they agreed to a truce. According to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel will not hesitate to attack, if the Iranian-backed Shiite organization breaks any part of the agreement. On her part, Hezbollah did not make any announcement after Netanyahu’s speech until the early hours of the morning today.

The ceasefire began, as agreed, at 4 am. Starting today and for the next 60 days, the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah fighters should be progressively withdrawn from the Israeli-Lebanese border so that displaced civilians can return to their homes. The Lebanese armed forces and state security forces will be deployed in the area.

The United States, with the full support of France and allies, will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure that this agreement is “fully and effectively” implemented; assured the American president, Joe Biden and repeated in turn that “if Hezbollah or anyone else violates the agreement and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense, according to international law.”

Hezbollah has long been Iran’s first line of defense. However, today, after almost 14 months of fighting and the invasion of the IDF into the Lebanese territory, the Shiite organization supported by Tehran has almost been decimated, with the balance of war between the two sides… tilting in favor of the Israeli side.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in his speech defended the agreement, as he underlined that now the IDF will be able to “focus on the threat of Iran”.

He also cited the need for a “refresh” in Israel’s troops, which should be re-armed, as a reason why this is the right time for a ceasefire. He said it was “no secret” that there had been “long delays” in the supply of arms.

Finally, he made it clear that the goal is to isolate Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while war experts have long known that Israel cannot afford to wage two wars on two fronts for a long time.

“Hamas counted on Hezbollah to fight on its side. But with Hezbollah now on the sidelines, Hamas is left alone,” he said, noting earlier that “we are changing the face of the Middle East.”

At the same time, from the White House, Joe Biden pointed out that Washington is working with Turkey, Egypt and Qatar to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza. However, the truce in Lebanon came about after the mediation of the United States and France.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire, describing it as a “fundamental step towards restoring calm and stability” in Lebanon and called on Israel to “fully comply” with its terms and respect its resolution UN 1701 on the end of the previous war, in 2006, between Israel and Hezbollah.

For Israel, however, and according to what the Israeli prime minister said, “the duration of the ceasefire in Lebanon will depend on developments” – despite the fact that the president of the United States stressed that the agreement is designed to make the pause permanent of hostilities”. But no one knows how long this pause will last.