The State of Israel has been actively engaged in a bitter war with Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah since October 8, 2023. Recently, on November 27th, 2024,  the two parties have agreed to sign a ceasefire deal in hopes of deescalating the conflict between them.

The ceasefire granted Israel 60 days for its forces to retreat and cease all attacks in Southern Lebanon. Lebanon was given the same amount of time to do the same in the Litani River for its Hezbollah troops. Only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers were given permission to remain in the area. The agreement also stated that the Lebanese army was to dismantle all infrastructure and confiscate all weapons belonging to unauthorized terror groups such as Hezbollah. This includes the responsibility to cease all entry of firearms as well as the production of weapons for these organizations.

However, the Lebanese army is concerned that they do not have the resources to carry out all of these requirements. In response, the United States of America and France committed to assisting the country in its efforts to take back control of its southern region through work with the international community. As a result of this promise, the USA and France are expected join the Tripartite Mechanism. This assembly, led by UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon), serves the purpose of holding civil discussions between Israeli and Lebanese representatives regarding the war in the Middle East and its potential solutions.

The role that the United States and France in this assembly play is ensuring that both Israel and Lebanon are adhering to the terms of the ceasefire. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that Israel maintains the right to attack Hezbollah if it breaks the terms of the agreement in any way. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack,” said Netanyahu. “If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack.”