GAZA CITY: A senior Hamas official has said that the Palestinian group is ready to reach a ceasefire with Israel to end the ongoing war in Gaza as he hailed the ceasefire that took hold in Lebanon.
“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.
Meanwhile, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Wednesday that the Palestinian group “appreciates” Lebanon’s right to reach an agreement that protects the people of Lebanon and hoped for a deal to end the war in Gaza.
After weeks of international pressure on Israel, US President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, US envoy Amos Hochstein said Israeli forces positioned two to three kilometres (1.2 to 1.8 miles) from the border with Lebanon “will remain in place for now”, and leave gradually over the next 60 days, beginning in the “next several days, or first couple of weeks”.
“But there is a lot to do in these 60 days,” Hochstein said in the interview.
“The Lebanese army cannot deploy that many forces that quickly all across the south when they haven’t been there in such a long time,” he said, noting Lebanese armed forces will move in as Israeli forces depart.
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The United States is Israel’s key ally and military backer, and Biden hailed the deal as “good news” and a “new start” for Lebanon.
Netanyahu thanked Biden for his involvement in brokering the deal, under whose terms Israel will maintain “full” freedom to act against Hezbollah should the Lebanese group pose any new threat.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has taken effect amid hopes of a permanent end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, as well as more than a year of cross-border fighting.
US President Joe Biden said the deal involves Israeli forces withdrawing from Lebanon over 60 days, with the Lebanese army taking control of territory in the south of the country to ensure Hezbollah does not rebuild forces.
Lebanon’s army, which is tasked with helping make sure the ceasefire holds, said in a statement on November 27 it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country.
The military also asked that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military withdraws.
Streams of cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli strikes in recent months began heading back to the area after the ceasefire, according to Reuters.
