The truce brokered by the United States and France took effect on Wednesday (Nov 27), with US President Joe Biden saying it was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities”.

He warned Israel had the right to self-defence if Hezbollah broke the agreement, but added: “It heralds a new start for Lebanon.” Mr Biden said the latest ceasefire deal could be used as a blueprint to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Israel and the Lebanese based militant group Hezbollah have reached a ceasefire agreement. The two sides have been exchanging fire for more than a year, but in the past two months the conflict escalated greatly when Israel launched aggressive air and ground campaigns.