Hamas says it ‘is prepared for a ceasefire’ in Gaza after deal is struck between Hezbollah and Israel

Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza, a senior official in the Palestinian group said, hailing the ceasefire that took hold in Lebanon early this morning.

‘We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners,’ the official told AFP, however accusing Israel of obstructing an agreement.

The statement from Hamas’ upper brass comes mere hours after Israel and Hezbollah agreed a ceasefire after months of bitter fighting and stalled negotiations.

The cessation of hostilities was established after Israel’s security cabinet last night voted 10-1 in favour of a deal aimed at a 60-day truce that could form the basis of a lasting peace deal.

It came into effect at 4am local time, 2am GMT today.

But Israel’s air force continues to demolish targets across Gaza, as horrifying photos emerged overnight of rescue teams pulling broken bodies from the rubble of buildings.

US President Joe Biden hailed the ceasefire with Hezbollah as ‘good news’, while stressing that Israel ‘retains the right to self defence’ if the Lebanese group breaks the terms of the agreement.

He said it ‘heralds a new start for Lebanon’, beleaguered by months of bombardment and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

Netanyahu’s office said: ‘Israel appreciates the contribution of the United States in the process, and maintains its right to act against any threat to its security.’

Hezbollah is yet to comment.

Netanyahu declared the deal would allow thousands of Israeli families to return to their homes after months displaced by the conflict on the northern border.

He stressed the deal would depend on ‘what happens’ and said Israel would maintain ‘full’ freedom to act in Lebanon, pushing back on cynicism over the terms.

Netanyahu added that a truce would allow Israel to ‘focus on the Iranian threat’ and put pressure on Hamas after more than a year of conflict.

He spoke on Tuesday after weeks of discussions over a deal mediated with Hezbollah by the government of Lebanon.

The agreement is understood to be based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Hezbollah in Israel in 2006.

The Israeli Prime Minister went on to announce that the truce with Hezbollah would allow Israel to focus on the looming threat from Iran, which struck Israel with missiles on October 1 and April 13 – the first direct attacks from Iran in Israel’s history.

He also cited the military, saying the cessation of hostilities meant the Israeli Defence Forces could ‘breather’ and ‘replenish stocks’.

He added that Israel’s forces would now be able to ‘separate the fronts’, as ‘Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side’.

‘With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own. We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help free the remaining hostages in Gaza, he said. 

Israeli forces have been locked in intense clashes with Hezbollah since late September, escalating their campaign with a ground offensive into the south after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges.

Lebanese officials echoed support for a deal after months caught in the crossfire.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the deal was a ‘fundamental step’ towards regional stability.

He added that Lebanon was committed to strengthening the presence of its army in the south, per the terms of the agreement.

Strikes nonetheless continued to pound Beirut into Tuesday evening. 

To date, the Lebanese health ministry estimates that at least 3,823 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them since September. 

Israel has sought to oust Hezbollah from its strongholds in southern Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut with some 70,000 people now displaced from northern Israel by the conflict.

In recent months, its military has killed nearly all of the group’s leaders. But international pressure mounts to de-escalate amid fears of the conflict spilling into a regional war.

The deal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces will withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah will end its armed presence along the southern border, south of the Litani River. 

The withdrawals will be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing UN peacekeeping force.

The deal echoes the existing Resolution 1701, which critics say did little to keep Hezbollah at bay. 

When Israel entered Lebanon earlier this year, it cited perceived inaction from the United Nations to keep Hezbollah from expanding beyond its agreed borders.

Hezbollah never ended its presence in southern Lebanon, while Lebanon says Israel regularly violated its airspace and occupied small patches of its territory.

But under the 2006 agreement, Israel was also not supposed to intervene directly to push Hezbollah back.

Netanyahu spoke tonight of a ‘paradigm shift in security for Israel’, and will hope to convince Israelis that the new deal will pave the way for a stronger resolution than 1701 that overcomes its shortcomings.

‘If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike,’ he insisted.

Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project and former Ambassador of the UK to Yemen, told MailOnline: ‘This is pretty much a total Israeli victory. Hezbollah’s leadership, infrastructure, communications and weaponry have been severely damaged. 

‘Hezbollah initiated the intensification of hostilities 13 months ago, linking their campaign with the Palestinian cause. Now they have agreed to stop with their Hamas allies still being pummeled. 

‘Netanyahu has rubbed this in by saying a calming on the northern front will free up resource and bandwidth for intensified action against Hamas and Iran.’

He noted that the deal may be ‘fragile’, placing a lot of responsibility on the Lebanese authorities, who are expected to work closely with the US to hold up their end of the deal.

‘Israel will not leave anything to the UN in future – nor will the incoming US Administration ask them to.

‘Israel will use its 60 day withdrawal period to make certain Hezbollah has withdrawn completely north of the Litani River.’

Mr Fitton-Brown suggested Hamas, the Houthis and Iran’s Shia militias will likely be ‘disappointed’ by Hezbollah’s approach to the ceasefire.

He also warned other groups within Lebanon may now look to ‘see whether they can loosen Hezbollah’s (and Iran’s) grip on Lebanon.  

Alon Pinkas, an Israeli diplomat and former ambassador, told Al Jazeera the deal still looks ‘very fragile’ because it looks ‘very difficult to maintain and sustain in the long run’.

He told the outlet the clauses in the deal are ‘unenforceable’, and cited mounting opposition from both the centre-left and right within Israel.

American officials, leading the talks, nonetheless spoke optimistically of progress towards securing lasting peace.

President Biden said this evening the deal was ‘good news’, and confirmed both Israel and the Lebanese government had accepted a proposal to ‘end the devastating conflict between Israel and Lebanon’.

He reiterated that Israel could still retaliate if Hezbollah ‘or any other group’ breaks the terms of the 60-day deal. 

‘Let me be clear, if Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defence, consistent with international law.’

‘Since the war with Hezbollah began, over 70,000 Israelis have been forced to live as refugees in their own country, helplessly watching their homes, their businesses, their communities as they are bombarded and destroyed,’ he said on Tuesday.

‘And over 300,000 Lebanese people have also been forced to live as refugees in their own country.

‘All told, this has been the deadliest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in decades.’ 

He added that the people of Gaza also ‘deserve an end of the fighting and displacement’ after more than a year of near-relentless air strikes and incursion.

He said the deal with Hezbollah ‘brings us closer to realising the affirmative agenda’ of his presidency, urging ‘a future where Palestinians have a state of their own’ that ‘fulfills its people’s legitimate aspirations’ and cannot ‘threaten Israel or harbour terrorist groups with backing from Iran.’ 

Biden added that the US would lead a new ‘push’ for a ceasefire in Gaza – as he looks to leave a lasting influence before handing over to president-elect Trump in January.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today that a deal could help end the Gaza conflict ‘by de-escalating tensions in the region’, despite Netanyahu’s comments.

Blinken said that after months of ‘intensive diplomatic effort’ with partners including France, working with Lebanon and Israel, he hoped to reach a conclusion ‘very soon’.

‘It will make a big difference in saving lives and livelihoods in Lebanon and in Israel. It will make a big difference in creating the conditions that will allow people to return to their home safely in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon,’ he said.

The United States and France will work ‘to ensure this arrangement is fully implemented’ and lead international efforts for ‘capacity-building’ of the Lebanese army, Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement.

Keir Starmer said the ‘long overdue’ ceasefire would ‘provide some measure of relief’ to the civilian populations of both Lebanon and Israel after months of ‘devastating conflict and bloodshed’.

He stressed the need for the deal to be ‘turned into a lasting political solution in Lebanon, based on Security Council Resolution 1701’ that would allow civilians to return ‘permanently’ to their homes and for communities to rebuild.

‘The UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East,’ he said.

‘We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid.’

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed the ‘very encouraging news’, saying the deal would increase Lebanon’s ‘internal security and stability’.

The announcement was welcomed ‘first and foremost for the Lebanese and Israeli people affected by the fighting,’ Von der Leyen said on X.

‘Lebanon will have an opportunity to increase internal security and stability thanks to Hezbollah’s reduced influence.’

Amelia Whitworth, Head of Policy, Campaigns and Youth at global children’s charity Plan International UK, told MailOnline: ‘We welcome the news of a ceasefire in Lebanon. 

‘Today’s agreement must act as a vital step towards a sustained, permanent ceasefire – both in Lebanon and across Gaza and the wider Middle East region. 

‘The horrors must stop immediately: all children deserve to enjoy their childhood free from the threat of violence.’ 

Ms Whitworth noted that the ‘extreme violence’ had already seen more than 3,000 people killed, including at least 200 children.

The number of internally displaced people within Lebanon has reached almost 900,000, while more than half a million have fled the country.

Lebanon was home to thousands of displaced people from regional conflicts including the Syrian Civil War before fighting broke out.

Between September 23 and October 25, nearly 350,000 Syrians returned to war-torn Syria to avoid the conflict in Lebanon, Lebanese authorities report.

As the announcement came, sirens sounded in central and northern Israel, according to the Israeli army.

‘Three projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were successfully intercepted by the IAF (Israeli air force),’ it announced.

Strikes also continued to rock Beirut in the hours before the ceasefire took effect. 

Some of the strikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the security cabinet was set to agree to the truce.

Israel’s military had earlier issued an evacuation warning ahead of the strike, sparking panic as people tried to flee the area amid heavy traffic.

A Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity, told the AFP news agency the strike targeted ‘a money exchange and transfer company’.

Moments after Biden said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to the deal, attacks shook an apartment in the Khandaq al-Ghamiq area of Beirut, MTV Lebanon News reported. 

Despite the success in agreeing a ceasefire with Hezbollah, Benjamin Netanyahu separately faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his conduct in Gaza.

It said there were ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that both Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, were responsible for the ‘war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts’.

Israel’s 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and displaced nearly all the enclave’s population at least once, according to Gaza officials.

Israel began its offensive after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, with more than 250 others taken hostage, Israel has said. 

The ICC also named Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, citing the mass killings of the October 7 attacks. Israel says it has already killed Masri. 

The decision obliges the 124 states party to the treaty to act on arrest warrants it issues.

The EU’s foreign policy chief reiterated that the decisions are binding and leaders cannot pick and choose while warrants to act upon.

‘The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It’s not optional,’ Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus this week.

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.

The United States rejected the ICC’s decision and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.

Neither are party to the Rome Statute.

‘Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government – (they are) being accused of antisemitism,’ said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.

‘I have the right to criticise the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That’s enough.’