Ten-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire under way — BBC News

[0:00] Now as I mentioned the Prime Minister is on his way to Paris where the UK and France are to chair [0:06] a virtual meeting aimed at establishing a multilateral mission to restore the safe passage [0:11] of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Officials say around 40 countries are willing to join an [0:17] operation in the Gulf. President Macron has said this wouldn't include either the US or Iran. [0:25] Now that summit comes as tens of thousands of Lebanese people are heading back home in the [0:30] south of the country after a ceasefire came into effect. The Iranian-backed group Hezbollah says it'll [0:37] abide by the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon. The ceasefire was brokered by the United States [0:43] after six weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The deal is also expected to help [0:49] efforts to end the US-Israeli war against Iran. Well my colleague Helena Humphrey is in Paris where [0:56] the Prime Minister is heading to join President Macron. Helena. That's right Nikki, we are [1:03] expecting the arrival of Sakhir Starmer in about an hour from now. I'm here on the Champs Elysees [1:09] in the heart of Paris, just a stone's throw away from the Elysees Palace where Sakhir Starmer will [1:15] be chairing that meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron. Emmanuel Macron very keen to specify [1:22] that this would be about a defensive mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz when conditions allow, [1:29] presumably, in some kind of post-conflict future in all of this. As you've been mentioning, around [1:36] 40 countries set to take part in that video conference, really getting into the nitty-gritty of [1:43] what it would look like to secure the safe passage on the Strait of Hormuz. But let's talk more [1:49] about all of this now with our Paris correspondent who joins me now, James Waterhouse. James, really [1:54] good to have you with us. What are the expectations ahead of this meeting? Well, I think it's important [2:00] to look at today as still within the realms of the politics around this war. People will hear the words [2:07] operation, deployment, and think, OK, this is going to see a a wider involvement by America's other [2:14] allies. But this is about, I think, them having their political voices heard. We don't have U.S. [2:21] representation here today. We don't have anything from the Israeli side. And, of course, it's not clear [2:26] to what extent the Israelis have been consulted. Nevertheless, they're talking about military [2:31] escorts for ships. They're talking about demining. They're talking about the sharing of intelligence. [2:37] And I think what they are trying to do is split the difference. They are not happy with Iran's [2:41] control of the Strait of Hormuz. But they're equally not happy about America's naval blockade [2:46] in response. They're blocking the U.S. Navy's blocking Iranian ports to try and limit their [2:52] oil exports. And so what this is trying to do, I think, is to restore confidence in the shipping [2:57] companies, the shipping insurers, but also to prop up in some way these very fragile [3:02] ceasefires that we now have in place across the Middle East. James, I've heard a number of analysts [3:08] liken this to the coalition of the willing when it comes to Ukraine. And I want to get your thoughts [3:14] on that, because having covered the war in Ukraine so extensively for so many years, [3:19] we know that the coalition of the willing was not an easy task either. So what does that mean for this [3:25] particular conflict? Yeah, there's a big difference, isn't there, between willing and able. [3:29] And I think, you know, if you are Europe in these times where you have a White House that is less [3:35] than impressed with Europe's defense spending over recent years, you have a White House that is [3:41] disinterested in large parts with the war in Ukraine at the moment. You have a White House that is [3:47] engaging in its own almost unilateral operations in Venezuela. We've seen what has been going on [3:53] alongside Israel against Iran. So what we are seeing here is Europe once again saying, look, [3:59] here is what we would do if you were to alter course. And they are talking in plain terms to America, [4:05] the main player in this. It is America that is still the dominant military force here. So this is [4:11] part of the politics. It may well transpire that countries like the UK, like France, will deploy [4:18] demining ships in the future. But for now, we are seeing pledges to try and solidify the pause in [4:26] fighting we see at the moment. Not least, they also want to try and ease global markets because [4:31] the shockwaves from this war, as we know, are going to be felt for some time. Indeed, and certainly in [4:36] a conflict that many of these European leaders arriving here in Paris believe has no legal basis. [4:42] For now, James, many thanks for your reporting. Look forward to talking to you again throughout the course [4:47] of the day. Well, of course, James was mentioning those fragile ceasefires throughout the region, [4:54] the latest developments being, of course, that ceasefire for 10 days between Israel and Lebanon. [5:00] We can cross over now to Jerusalem and speak to our Middle East correspondent, Yoland Nell. [5:06] Yoland, just bring us up to date with what we are seeing on the ground with regards to that ceasefire [5:12] and whether it appears to be holding. Well, first of all, that ceasefire is an agreement between [5:19] Israel and Lebanon. But of course, it's Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group backed by Iran that has [5:26] been fighting with Israel over the past six weeks. There have been really fierce battles on the ground [5:31] after an Israeli ground invasion. And Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets at the north of Israel [5:39] until just a minute before this midnight deadline came into effect, midnight local time for the [5:45] ceasefire to take hold. Now, it had got off to a shaky start. There were reports from Lebanon, too, [5:50] about continued Israeli military shelling of villages in southern Lebanon. But for the moment, [5:56] it largely seems to be holding. The Israeli press have really been sort of picking over all of this, [6:02] as you'd expect this morning. It caught a lot of people by surprise because it was President Trump [6:07] himself, who came out and made the declaration about this ceasefire. And some members of the [6:11] security cabinet in Israel had not been properly informed by the prime minister, according to reports. [6:17] A lot of angry responses coming from the mayors in the north of Israel, saying that their citizens [6:23] there feel betrayed by the ceasefire. They really want this issue of the disarmament of Hezbollah [6:31] to be finally dealt with. Otherwise, they say the country keeps returning to rounds of fighting. They feel [6:38] under threat. What the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a late-night video message, [6:44] he said that the Israeli forces would remain deep within Lebanese territory. He said they weren't going [6:50] anywhere for the time being. They're six miles in, he said. That's where Israel's setting up what [6:56] it's calling a security buffer zone to try to protect its citizens in the north. Now, Hezbollah, [7:03] although it has said is sticking by this agreement, it credits Iran with having brokered it. Because, [7:08] of course, in the background here are the discussions that have been going on with the U.S. and mediators [7:15] to try to extend the ceasefire to stop the war between the U.S. and Israel and Iran. But, you know, [7:23] what Hezbollah is also saying in one of its statements, it's saying that the Lebanese people [7:28] have the right to resist Israel's occupation of Lebanese territory. So that does seem to sort of, [7:34] you know, leave open possible complications there in terms of this ceasefire. [7:43] Indeed. Yolande Nelder, our Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem. Good to talk to you. Thank you. [7:50] Around the world and across the U.K. This is BBC News. Welcome back. You are live with BBC News. [9:07] Shortly before the break, we were talking about that 10-day ceasefire which was agreed between [9:13] Israel and Lebanon. We can cross live now to Lebanon, to Beirut, and speak to Neda Attala, [9:19] who is a Beirut correspondent for The National. Neda, very good to have you with us here on BBC News. [9:26] Just bring us up to date with the mood there in Lebanon just a number of hours into that ceasefire [9:34] and whether it appears to be holding. Yes, sure. So, yeah, for now it appears to be holding. I'm [9:41] actually on the road to southern Lebanon and I think one word can sum up the mood. It's happiness [9:48] and impatience to go back for the southerners to go back to their homes. Even though it's just a 10-day [9:54] ceasefire, the road is packed. We saw lots of cars. We were like, belongings of their families, [10:00] you know, full of belongings of their families. Families were finally able to come back to their [10:07] villages. You know, just yesterday night, people were already on the road back to the south despite [10:12] one of the main bridges connecting the north to the south, being completely destroyed. So, [10:18] people were just actually crossing the bridge, walking. They were crossing the bridge on scooter [10:22] because they were so impatient to finally be able to check on the property, to check on the house. [10:27] You know, there's one million of Lebanese displaced. It's one-fifth of the population [10:32] and they had enough of, you know, living in tents, sleeping in the streets. So they were very happy to be [10:37] finally able to return home, but they're still cautious. And, you know, authorities have told [10:42] people, displaced people, not to come back home because, you know, there's a track record of [10:50] Israeli ceasefire not being respected. So they are afraid that, you know, they might still see some [10:56] strikes or some violations. But, you know, despite those warnings, you know, the road is packed and [11:01] and people are quite happy, but still cautious. And on the long term, you know, the main sticking [11:12] points, notably the Israeli occupation of the south, it's remained unresolved. And you also have many [11:19] people, many southern residents who are not able to return to their to their houses because it's still [11:24] under Israeli occupation as of now. Yes. Neda, you mentioned some of the sticking points there. We know [11:31] that Hezbollah says that, for the time being, that it will abide by the conditions of the ceasefire, [11:36] but it will not commit to disarming. How difficult does this make that for [11:42] Lebanon, which has not previously been able to convince Hezbollah to disarm? [11:46] So, yeah, this is one of the main sticking points. So now the next for Lebanon is... [12:08] It appears that, unfortunately, we have lost the line there with Neda Atala. Our apologies, [12:14] but thank you very much, Neda, for being with us. Well, our chief international correspondent, [12:20] Lise Doucette, is now inside Tehran. She is reporting from Iran on the condition that her [12:27] reporting is not broadcast by BBC's Persian language service. That is the same condition which applies [12:34] to all international journalism organizations operating within the country. Let's take a look [12:41] now at her latest report from inside Iran. It's been a statement from the foreign ministry here [12:46] welcoming the 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon. Iran had insisted from the beginning that [12:51] the original agreement on this temporary truce had been across the region. That's what Pakistan's [12:56] Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had said, a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon. Now, whether it was [13:02] Iranian pressure or pressure from other fronts that allowed this new part of the ceasefire, [13:09] this 10-day truth with Lebanon to come into force, will, of course, continue to be discussed. [13:13] But when it comes to President Trump's other statements, really upbeat assessment of the [13:19] progress of the talks, there has been a silence from Tehran that you mentioned that the ambassador [13:26] at the United Nations gave... He said he was cautiously optimistic. [13:32] On first glance, it would seem really, really difficult to imagine [13:36] that even within the last week they would be able to close the gap on these really highly technical [13:43] and highly sensitive issues. We do live in unprecedented times when it comes to relations [13:48] between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America. A month ago, if you would ask, [13:54] and we did ask, many really seasoned Iran watchers whether there could there be high-level, [13:59] face-to-face talks between the leaders of Iran during this war with the leaders of the United [14:06] States, their archenemy of the last half century, they would have said, no, no, no, it's impossible. [14:10] So those direct face-to-face talks did take place in Islamabad last weekend. But even so, [14:16] you speak to American and European negotiators who were locked in 18 months of negotiations with the [14:23] Iranians the last time a nuclear deal was reached. They were months of breakthrough and breakdown. [14:30] What we do here is that they are beginning to close the gaps. Whether the deal is done, [14:35] well, we've only heard it so far from President Trump.