Hezbollah Agreed to 21-Day Ceasefire Before Nasrallah’s Assassination, Lebanon’s Government Says

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has revealed that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just days before his assassination by Israel, CNN reports.

This revelation throws a new light on the events leading up to the deadly airstrike.

 Bou Habib said that the temporary ceasefire was proposed by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, along with other allies, during last week’s UN General Assembly.

“He [Nasrallah] agreed, he agreed,” Habib confirmed. “We agreed completely. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire but consulting with Hezbollah. The Speaker of the Lebanese House, Mr. Nabih Berri, consulted with Hezbollah, and we informed the Americans and the French what happened. And they told us that Mr. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both presidents [Biden and Macron].”

Following this agreement, White House senior adviser Amos Hochstein was set to travel to Lebanon to negotiate the ceasefire.

The assassination of Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on Friday in Beirut’s southern suburbs followed shortly after the agreement. A joint statement issued by the US, France, Australia, Canada, the EU, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK, and Qatar had called for a 21-day ceasefire.

Sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed that Hezbollah had indeed agreed to the temporary truce before the US released the proposal last week. While it’s unclear if the decision came directly from Nasrallah, sources agree that his approval would have been necessary for the group to agree.

A US official previously told the news outlet that the US-led statement had been approved by Israel after days of collaborative work. The Biden administration officials had stated with confidence that “the ceasefire will be for 21 days” across the Lebanon-Israel border.

However, within hours, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would “continue to hit Hezbollah with all our might.” Israeli officials attempted to clarify the situation, calling it an “honest misunderstanding.”

The US official revealed that the administration retreated from pushing the ceasefire plan after learning of Israel’s potential attempt to take out Nasrallah.

This revelation further complicates the already volatile situation between Israel and Lebanon, adding a new layer of tension and uncertainty to the ongoing conflict.