Biden: Israel-Lebanon ceasefire will come into effect today

US President Joe Biden says a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel has officially come into effect on Wednesday morning, ending over a year of the regime's deadly attacks on the country, which had intensified during the last two months.

Biden announced on Tuesday that both sides had agreed to the ceasefire.

He said that Israel will gradually withdraw its troops over 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel.

"Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities," he said.

The Israeli war cabinet had approved the US-brokered deal ahead of Biden's announcement.

UN chief Antonio Guterres welcomed the cessation of hostilities, hoping it would put an end to the war's suffering and destruction.

Under the agreement, the fighting at Lebanon's southern border will come to a complete end.

The deal will also see the Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army redeploying in the region.

Hezbollah will then move its assets to the north of the Litani River.

The transition process is set to take place during 60 days.

The Israeli regime initiated its full-scale war on Lebanon in late September when Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced updated war objectives, emphasizing a determination to return hundreds of thousands of settlers to their homes in northern occupied Palestine.

Israeli military commanders pledged to eradicate Hezbollah and eliminate its presence in southern Lebanon. However, they were ultimately compelled to accept a ceasefire agreement without achieving any of those goals.

Hawkish Israeli minister Ben-Gvir says Palestinians must 'voluntarily' leave Gaza

Ben-Gvir has been strongly condemned by leaders of several countries for making similar calls in the past.

Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Tuesday the agreement between Israel and Lebanon does not achieve the war's goals of returning the settlers of the north to their homes safely

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu's cabinet was "dragged into an agreement with Hezbollah, currently the northern towns are destroyed, the lives of the residents have collapsed, and the army is exhausted."

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