Wednesday Briefing: Israel approves Hezbollah cease-fire deal
Good morning. We’re covering Israel’s approval of a cease-fire deal for Lebanon and Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. Plus, the 100 notable books of 2024.
Israel approved a cease-fire proposal with HezbollahPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet yesterday approved a cease-fire deal that would suspend fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah after more than a year of conflict. President Biden immediately hailed the agreement, which was mediated by the U.S. and France, and said it was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” He added that the cease-fire is scheduled to take effect today. Netanyahu had earlier put his weight behind the deal as Israeli forces launched a barrage of strikes in Lebanon, hitting the heart of Beirut and neighborhoods to its south. Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the approval. Lebanon’s government, which does not control Hezbollah, but whose approval is essential for the deal to move forward, is set to discuss the cease-fire agreement today. Follow our live updates here. For more, we spoke to Patrick Kingsley, our Jerusalem bureau chief. What do both sides want out of this cease-fire? Patrick: Israel mainly wants Hezbollah to withdraw from the borderlands of southern Lebanon, thereby removing a threat to Israeli communities on the other side of the border. Israel also wants the right to redeploy inside Lebanon if Hezbollah doesn’t actually withdraw. Publicly, Hezbollah has suggested that it mainly wants Israel to stop firing and to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Privately, Hezbollah likely wants its forces to remain as close as possible to the border, without provoking another Israeli invasion or air campaign.
How could these negotiations affect the ongoing war in Gaza? They might not have a great effect. Some hope that Hamas’s remaining leaders in Gaza, deflated by the decision of their Lebanese ally, might agree to leave Gaza, allowing for the end of the war. But most experts find that idea fanciful. Instead, Hamas is expected to dig in, while the Israeli government is likely to continue to push for Hamas’s complete destruction, even as Israeli generals warn that such a goal is near impossible. Now that Israel’s cabinet approved the cease-fire, what will happen next? The Lebanese government is meant to deploy more of its own forces in southern Lebanon in order to fill the vacuum left by Hezbollah. But no one is sure how that will work, and similar efforts have failed in the past. Whatever happens, we expect the deal will give the various sides 60 days to complete the redeployment.
Threats fly as U.S. tariff war loomsPresident-elect Donald Trump’s vow to impose heavy tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office is reverberating around the globe. Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, suggested yesterday that her government was ready to retaliate in kind if Trump imposed his threatened 25 percent tax on products entering the U.S. from Mexico. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said that he would hold an emergency meeting on Trump’s tariff proposal with provincial and territorial leaders. Here’s the latest. Mexico’s president said that higher tariffs wouldn’t curb illegal migration or the consumption of illicit drugs in the U.S., an argument that Trump had made in the past. She also suggested that a tariff war would only hurt both economies, pointing to car manufacturers like General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co., which have operated in Mexico for decades. China: If Trump levies tariffs against China, Beijing could let its currency fall to compensate. But that could start a currency war, which poses formidable risks for both countries.
Russia said Ukraine attacked it with U.S. missilesRussia said that Ukraine had struck its territory again with U.S.-supplied missiles. The strikes, on Saturday and Monday, included more than a dozen weapons known as Army Tactical Missile Systems, the Russian defense ministry said. The attack damaged military infrastructure and wounded some soldiers, and Moscow said it was preparing “retaliatory actions.” In Ukraine, the air force reported yesterday that Russia had unleashed an overnight attack involving nearly 200 drones. The attacks were the latest in a series of intensifying air assaults between the two countries in recent days. |
