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Lebanon Truce Expands Area Free of Hezbollah Arms, Sharpens Terms of UN Resolution
Soldier stands guard next to poster with images of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, at the entrance of Beirut’s southern suburbs in Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
A ceasefire deal agreed to by Lebanon and Israel expands the area expected to be free of Hezbollah‘s arms and spells out the Lebanese security forces entitled to carry weapons, sharpening language from prior UN resolutions on the matter in ways that appear to corner the Lebanese terrorist organization, diplomats and analysts said.
The deal, published by Lebanon‘s cabinet on Wednesday, runs to just over five pages of printed text and includes a map of southern Lebanon.
The area to be free of Hezbollah weaponry is delineated by a red line labelled “New 2024 line” that runs east-west across Lebanon.
It starts from a point on the coast about 25 km (15 miles) north of the Israeli border and runs eastward, mostly along the Litani River but then diverging from it north of the town of Yohmor, thus going beyond the area that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 said would be free of non-state arms.
Resolution 1701 ended the last round of conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
The expanded zone includes Beaufort Castle, a Crusader-era fortress considered strategic because it commands a view onto the Israeli border, said retired army brigadier general Hassan Jouni.
The 2006 resolution also said there would be “no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon” deployed across Lebanese territory.
The new ceasefire deal goes further, stipulating that only “official military and security forces” in Lebanon are authorized to carry arms.
It specifically names those forces as the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Internal Security Forces, General Security, State Security, Lebanese customs, and municipal police.
“Naturally it means a seriousness with implementation, so that there is no obscurity around this that could be interpreted in a different way,” said Jouni.
“It serves the interest of the Lebanese state and its official institutions, but it is not to the interest of Hezbollah.”
Officials in both the Beirut government and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which wields enormous political influence in Lebanon, have long referred to cabinet statements since 2008 enshrining the right to “resistance” as de facto official approval for Hezbollah‘s arsenal.
Two Lebanese officials told Reuters they did not find the added language in the new deal cause for concern, and said the most important achievement was a halt to the war.
But diplomats said the wording could give Israel more leverage than after 2006 to prevent Hezbollah from re-arming or redeploying fighters or weapons.
“Lebanon either didn’t have any other option, or they think they can outsmart it,” one diplomat from the region said.
A senior Western diplomat said Israel had such an upper hand, following months of heavy strikes that eliminated much of Hezbollah‘s top leadership and displaced more than 1.2 million people, that it could effectively dictate terms.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah was asked by a reporter on Wednesday about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements that Israel retained military freedom of action and would strike Hezbollah if it violated the deal.
Fadlallah said the group would retain the right to defend itself if Israel attacked.
The post Lebanon Truce Expands Area Free of Hezbollah Arms, Sharpens Terms of UN Resolution first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.