IDF troops reach Litani River, Ceasefire announcement expected

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Israeli people on Tuesday evening as a possible ceasefire deal's approval looms.

Netanyahu gave a summary of the IDF's operations across Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Syria in his remarks.

Several organizations are demonstrating opposite IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv against the emerging ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

The demonstration will be under the slogan "Agreement = destruction," "Stopping the Surrender Agreement in Lebanon," and "Last Call to Save the Galilee."

Several major organizations will be present at the demonstration, including groups interested in settling Lebanon, those representing northern residents, and other right-wing organizations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed reporters from the Group of 7 (G7) meeting in Italy on Tuesday afternoon within the hour of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expected announcement of a ceasefire deal with Lebanon. 

"So if this is finally agreed, and if this goes forward, it is the answer to the problem that has bedeviled the area for a couple of decades," Blinken said.

"And is the best way to guarantee that there is peace, there is civility, there is stability, and this constant threat of attack from Hezbollah, which has caused people to leave their homes, kids to not be able to go to school, is over."

Imagine a Mexican drug cartel storming the US border one autumn morning, killing, raping, kidnapping, and pillaging in cities along the border: San Diego, Yuma (Arizona), and El Paso.

Then imagine Canada bombarding US cities along its borders—Detroit, Sault Ste. Marie (Michigan) and Buffalo — in an act of solidarity with the brutal drug lords.

How would the US react?

The IDF launched a "large scale" attack on Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, the military announced, hours before a ceasefire is expected to be announced.

The IDF struck 20 targets across Beirut, including 13 in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah's stronghold of support.

The targets included aerial defense units, an intelligence center, command and control centers, weapons storage facilities, artillery storage, and terror infrastructure sites.

By saying it will accept any deal Lebanon signs with Israel, Iran has attempted to reflect its status as the “real power” in Lebanon, Iranian affairs expert Roi Kahanovich told Maariv in a recent interview. 

"This means, on the one hand, that the Iranians are the ones in control within Lebanon, and they are also looking out for their own interests," he explained.

Iran's interests in the agreement focus on two main aspects, Kahanovich explained. These aspects are "continuing to advance their nuclear program" and "beginning to rehabilitate Hezbollah," which he described as "Iran's most significant proxy on the border with Israel." 

A ceasefire in Lebanon will be announced at 10 p.m. by the United States and France, according to Lebanese channel Al Jadeed.

The alleged agreement is set to take effect at 10 a.m.

The war cabinet is expected to meet at 6 p.m. to approve the agreement in Lebanon.

The IDF launched a "large scale" attack on Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, the military announced.

This is a developing story.

IDF troops carried out operations in the area of the Litani River in Lebanon, the military said on Tuesday, marking the first time in over two decades that IDF soldiers have reached the area. 

The Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, was made possible by “arrogant” groupthink led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which stifled critical voices, entrenched the mistaken “conception” that money could buy quiet from Hamas, and fed the state’s unpreparedness in nearly aspect on the day of the massacre and the days and weeks after it, the Civilian Committee of Inquiry found in its final report, published on Tuesday.