A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted a deal brokered by the United States and France.

The ceasefire will help restore “lasting calm” and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

The agreement was approved in a 10:1 vote by Israel’s security Cabinet on Tuesday.

United States President Joe Biden said that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Reuters reported. The fighting was to end at 4 am local time.

“This [ceasefire] is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”

Biden said that while Israel will withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon over 60 days, the Lebanese Army will take control of Lebanon’s southern border areas to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its infrastructure.

“Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities,” he added.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily strikes for over the past 10 months amid Tel Aviv’s war on the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza.

The conflict escalated in September with intense Israeli air strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon. This included the southern suburbs of capital Beirut.

On September 27, Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in Beirut. Nasrallah had led the group for 32 years.

On October 1, the Israeli military launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, claiming that it was targeting Hezbollah weapons, command centres and a tunnel system near the border.

More than 3,000 persons have been killed and about 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has not officially commented on the ceasefire, but its senior official Hassan Fadlallah said that while the group supports the extension of Lebanon’s state authority, it will emerge stronger from the war.

“Thousands will join the resistance ... Disarming the resistance was an Israeli proposal that fell through,” Reuters quoted Fadlallah, as having told Al Jadeed TV.

Fadlallah is also a member of the Lebanese Parliament.

Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah, has not publicly commented on the ceasefire.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media that the deal was “the culmination of efforts undertaken for many months with the Israeli and Lebanese authorities, in close collaboration with the United States”.

At least 5,000 Lebanese troops would be deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces withdrew, Lebanese Foreign Minister Bou Habib announced.

Netanyahu said that Israel was ready to implement the ceasefire but warned of strong response to violations by Hezbollah.

He said that the ceasefire would allow Israel to focus on Iran, give the Israeli Defense Forces time to rest and replenish its weapons inventory and help isolate Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.

“In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action,” Netanyahu said. “Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively.”

Hezbollah was considerably weaker than it was at the beginning of the conflict, Netanyahu said.

“We have set it back decades, eliminated ... its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border,” he added.

The United States and France will collaborate with Israel and Lebanon to ensure the ceasefire is fully implemented and enforced, aiming to prevent the conflict from escalating into another cycle of violence, the White House said.

Washington added that the United States and France have also committed to “lead and support international efforts for capacity-building of the Lebanese Armed Forces as well as economic development throughout Lebanon to advance stability and prosperity in the region”.

The violent conflict in Lebanon was seen as a significant escalation of geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking over 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, killing more than 44,000 persons including nearly 16,700 children.