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Jewish, Pro-Israel Organizations React to Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Sept. 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Jewish and pro-Israel groups across the political spectrum came out in favor of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal brokered by the United States and France that was announced on Tuesday, but they also expressed some degree of skepticism that it will be properly enforced on the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.
The deal, which took effect on Wednesday morning, ended nearly 14 months of war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which wields significant influence across Lebanon. During the conflict — which began last October, when Hezbollah began launching rockets at northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza — about 70,000 Israelis were internally displaced from their homes.
In the past two months, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has had a string of successive battlefield victories against Hezbollah, including killing its leader and the entire top echelon of the organization. Israel has also killed at least 1,730 Hezbollah terrorists since last year, according to open-source intelligence.
Describing the deal, US President Joe Biden said in a speech, “Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese Army and the State Security Forces will deploy and take control of their own territory once again. Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt.”
Israel will also gradually withdraw from Lebanese territory during that period.
Crucially, Biden noted, “If Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense consistent with international law.”
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) said it welcomed the ceasefire deal but was only cautiously optimistic, writing it “hopes its enforcement can lead to enduring security for both the Israeli and Lebanese people.”
AJC pointed out that “much of this deal is based on the original tenets of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which has failed to be enforced since its adoption in 2006.” The resolution ended the last Israel-Hezbollah conflict and called for the terrorist group’s disarmament.
“To protect this [new] peace, enforcement from the Lebanese army, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and US Central Command will be paramount,” AJC added. “While AJC welcomes the new enforcement mechanisms in this agreement, we will continue to advocate for a reassessment of UNIFIL’s mandate and operations.”
“Our hearts are with the Israeli people who have been forced to flee from their homes in the north of the country and who will disproportionately face the risk of this agreement,” the group concluded.
The American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) also released a statement, writing that it “appreciate[s] the efforts of the Biden administration to work closely together with our ally Israel to forge a ceasefire in Lebanon.”
“With strong support from the United States, including from Democrats and Republicans in Congress who have ensured Israel’s qualitative military edge, Israel was able to significantly degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities,” AIPAC added. “Continuing US-Israel cooperation is essential both to maintain the ceasefire and prevent Iranian aggression in the region.”
It concluded with a call “on the international community to remedy its failures following the 2006 war and ensure Hezbollah can’t rearm or operate south of the Litani River,” signaling some skepticism, similar to AJC, that the deal will actually be enforced on Hezbollah.
J Street, which is AIPAC’s most prominent counterpart and recently called for a partial US arms embargo on Israel, made similar points in its statement, saying that while it welcome sthe deal, the group also “urges that all parties to the agreement ensure that the terms of the ceasefire are fully enforced so that civilians in both Israel and Lebanon can return safely to their homes as soon as possible.”
Specifically, J Street wrote, “The Lebanese government and army, as well as the international community, have important work to do to ensure that this agreement is actually enforced and that Hezbollah is not allowed to return to the south of the country and once again pose a threat to the people of Israel.”
J Street connected this ceasefire deal to pursuing one in Gaza, where Israel is fighting Hamas. It wrote that while this deal was an important step, “the work of US diplomacy will not be complete until a ceasefire and hostage deal is reached for Gaza as well.”
It said that it hoped the announcement “can be a catalyst for progress toward returning the hostages, ending the fighting in the south and surging much-needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.”
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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Hamas Says It’s Open to 5-Year Gaza Truce, One-Time Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The Palestinian jihadists of Hamas said they were willing to secure an agreement with Israel that that would see them remain in charge of the enclave, a source told international media. The deal would include an internationally guaranteed five-year truce and the release of all Israeli hostages in a single batch.
The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal which Hamas had rejected earlier in April as “partial,” urging a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the war ignited by the October 7 massacres.
Israel demands the return of all hostages seized in the 2023 attack, and the disarmament of Hamas, which the jihadists rejected as a “red line.”
An earlier Israeli offer, rejected by the Palestinian terrorists, included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.
More than a month into a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza after a two-month truce, a Hamas official said earlier this week that its delegation in Cairo would discuss “new ideas” on a ceasefire.
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Suspected Chemical Blast at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Kills 4, Injures Hundreds
People walk after an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, April 26, 2025. Photo: Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/IRNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A huge blast on Saturday likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials stored at Iran’s biggest port, Bandar Abbas, killed at least four people and injured more than 500, Iranian state media reported.
The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no immediate indication of a link between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.
“Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari said.
An Iranian government spokesperson, however, said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.
Iran’s official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast, and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around.
Bandar Abbas is Iran’s largest port and handles most of its containers in transit.
The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometers and was heard in Qeshm, an island 16 miles south of the port, Iranian media said.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion.
State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a “contributing factor” to the explosion. A local crisis management official told state TV that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded.
As relief workers tried to put out fires, the port’s customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained “dangerous goods and chemicals.” Activities at the port were halted after the blast, officials said.
DEADLY INCIDENTS
A series of deadly incidents have hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday’s blast, blamed on negligence.
They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coalmine, and an emergency repairs incident at Bandar Abbas killed one worker in 2023.
Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran’s nuclear program in recent years and last year bombed the country’s air defenses.
Tehran said Israel was behind a February, 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines. And in 2020, computers at Shahid Rajaee were hit by a cyberattack. The Washington Post reported that Iran’s arch-foe Israel appeared to be behind that incident as retaliation for an earlier Iranian cyberattack.
Israel has indicated it is nervous about the outcome of US-Iran talks, demanding a full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran says the program is used solely for peaceful purposes, while international observers say it is getting closer to being able to build a bomb.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office when asked for comment on whether Israel was in any way involved in Saturday’s explosion.
Oil facilities were not affected by the blast on Saturday, Iranian authorities said. The National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said in a statement that it had “no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines.”
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