The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah lasts for the first five days

The ceasefire signed by Israel and Lebanon, halting fighting with Hezbollah, began on Wednesday, November 27th. It appears to have held for the first five days, during which tensions continued in southern Lebanon and among civilians in both Israel and Lebanon began to adjust to the new reality. Lebanese civilians who fled southern Lebanon were warned by Israel not to return to areas near the border. Others who fled from more distant areas such as the coastal city of Tire were able to return.

The 60,000 Israelis evacuated from northern Israel are also waiting to see whether the ceasefire will hold. The first days of the agreement are likely to be the most sensitive as the parties weigh what new routine will begin along the border. Over the next two months of the agreement’s term, changes will continue as the IDF withdraws units that have been operating in villages in southern Lebanon.

In Israel, the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command changed policies across much of the country. “Gathering restrictions will be lifted in the areas of HaShfela, Yarkon, Dan, Sharon, Samaria, Menashe, Wadi Ara, HaCarmel and HaAmakim,” the IDF said on November 28. These locations cover most of the country, except for areas in the Galilee near the border.

On November 30, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi made further changes to the Home Front Command’s policies. “As part of the changes, the scale of activity in the areas of the Line of Confrontation and the Northern Golan will change from limited activity to partial activity. “Full activity is permitted in the rest of the country with no restrictions on gatherings, with the exception of communities surrounding the Gaza Strip (full activity with restrictions on gatherings of up to 2,000 people),” the IDF said.

This directive essentially means that most of the country, with the exception of areas near the Lebanese border, has now returned to normality. During the two months of Operation Northern Arrows from September 23 to November 27, Israelis in central and northern Israel were affected by Hezbollah rocket fire, often hitting between 100 and 200 projectiles daily into Israeli airspace. The policy change came despite ongoing threats to Israeli civilians. For example, on November 29, the IDF intercepted a drone flown from Iraq, and on December 1, the Iranian-backed Houthis fired a long-range missile into central Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis were moved to emergency shelters at 6:24 a.m. The IDF said the Israeli Air Force intercepted the Houthi missile before it entered Israeli airspace.

The IDF released review data from the two-month campaign in Lebanon. The Israeli Air Force flew 11,000 sorties, hitting a total of 360 targets in Beirut and 1,000 in the Bekaa Valley. The IDF estimates that it has eliminated 2,500 terrorists, including four Hezbollah division commanders, 24 brigade commanders and 112 commanders at the battalion level and below. Around 20,000 types of Hezbollah ammunition, missiles and drones were confiscated and 150 weapons caches were destroyed. The IDF data did not segment some important information, such as estimates of Hezbollah missiles destroyed by airstrikes.

On November 28, Halevi issued a statement describing the IDF’s successes in the two-month operation against Hezbollah. He said the IDF had eliminated Hezbollah’s entire chain of command. “We are now moving towards a new phase in which the same determination that led us to this agreement will be applied to enforcing (the ceasefire),” Halevi said. He also stated that the Israeli Air Force would enforce the agreement, meaning the IDF would strike at threats from Hezbollah and any attempt by the group to rearm.

Israel’s Northern Command chief, Brigadier General Ori Gordin, visited troops in Lebanon on November 28 and reiterated the IDF’s commitment to preventing Hezbollah’s return to areas near the border. Gordin met with officers of the 146 IDF^Th Division, including the unit’s commander, Brigadier General Yiftah Norkin, and the chief of the 300th^Th Brigade, Colonel Omri Rosenkrantz. This brigade is a territorial unit responsible for guarding the western section of the northern Lebanese border from the Mediterranean to the Galilee Hills. A second brigade controls the area near Kiryat Shmona, the eastern section of the same line.

“The success against Hezbollah is very significant and deals a serious blow to the organization at all levels and in all its systems,” Gordin said. He added that the IDF would vigorously enforce the ceasefire agreement. “We plan for this entire area to be cleared of Hezbollah’s capabilities and certainly their weapons. This is our mission.” (…) We are ready to return to the offensive and to the fight.” This approach represents a change in mentality for the IDF, he noted, as the Israel Defense Forces from October 7, 2023 to October 23 September 2024 were on the defensive in northern Israel. Now Israeli leaders intend to keep the border brigades on their toes ready to re-enter Lebanon and fight Hezbollah again to keep it under control.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an Adjunct Fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post and author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).

Tags: Hezbollah, IDF, Israel, Israel Hezbollah, Lebanon