CNN – The Israeli cabinet looks set to approve a ceasefire deal in Lebanon later Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson said, a move that could potentially end the war that has killed thousands.
Netanyahu had approved the plan “in principle,” a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday, adding that the prime minister signaled his potential approval for the deal with Hezbollah during a security consultation with Israeli officials Sunday night.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said earlier that talks appear to be moving positively toward an agreement, but acknowledged that as Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire, one misstep could upend the talks.
But later Monday evening, a Lebanese official familiar with the discussions said a ceasefire is expected to be announced “within 24 hours.”
Lebanon has already agreed to the US-backed proposal, which received Hezbollah’s approval, according to multiple Lebanese official sources.
Reports that a deal was nearing were met with a mixed response in Israel. Itamar Ben Gvir, the country’s far-right National Security Minister, called the deal a “big mistake” and said it would be “a historic missed opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.” Ben Gvir has also long worked to thwart potential ceasefire deals between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Benny Gantz, who resigned from Israel’s war cabinet in June over Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza, called on the prime minister to make the details of the ceasefire deal public.
“It is the right of the residents of the north, the fighters and the citizens of Israel to know,” Gantz said.
Residents of northern Israel – many of whom have been displaced by the conflict, along with residents of southern Lebanon across the border – have also expressed concern about the potential deal.
Nizan Zeevi, who lives north of Kyriat Shimona in Kfar Kila village, told CNN many residents view the deal as a “surrender agreement.”
“Our government is going to sign a very irresponsible agreement that is only a replay of the same agreement” signed to end the war in 2006, Zeevi said. He said he feared the deal would in time allow fighters in the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s special operation unit, to move closer to the border once more and “live right next to” him and his family.
“It’s my duty to my children to make sure that there is no chance for another October 7,” he said, referring to the Hamas attacks on southern Israel more than a year ago.
