After more than a month of brutal cross-border clashes that left thousands dead, a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon officially entered into force at 2100 GMT on Thursday, aligning with the midnight local time threshold between Thursday and Friday. The truce, which was first announced publicly by former U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the first major pause in hostilities between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since the deadly escalation began.
According to official figures from the conflict, more than 2,000 people have lost their lives in the fighting that gripped the border region over the past four weeks. Even in the final hours before the ceasefire took effect, violence continued to unfold on both sides. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it carried out a wave of intensive strikes across southern Lebanon in the 24 hours leading up to the truce, hitting more than 380 Hezbollah-linked targets. The military’s strikes targeted Hezbollah militants, rocket launch infrastructure, and group command headquarters, according to the official statement.
On the Israeli side, Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency rescue service, reported that Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into Israeli territory during the final pre-ceasefire window. The rocket fire left three people injured, the service confirmed. Even as the truce came into effect, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his government’s security posture for the 10-day period in a pre-recorded video address.
Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces will maintain a 10-kilometer-wide security zone inside southern Lebanon throughout the ceasefire. Justifying the decision on the basis of pressing Israeli security needs, the prime minister rejected calls for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the area. He also framed the truce as an unprecedented historic opening for lasting peace between Israel and Lebanon, while reiterating the Israeli government’s longstanding demand that Hezbollah be fully disarmed.
Pictures from the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon captured jubilant scenes as displaced Lebanese civilians began returning to their homes just hours after the ceasefire took effect, with families loading their belongings onto vehicle roofs to make the journey back to territory they had fled amid the fighting.