Tel Aviv, 26 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) -- The Israeli security cabinet approved a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Lebanon's Hezbollah group, Israel's Channel 12 and the news site ynet reported on Tuesday evening.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called on the cabinet to back the deal to end the fighting which has been ongoing for more than a year.

He said in an address to the nation that the length of the ceasefire "depends on what happens in Lebanon" and warned that Iran-backed Hezbollah would face retaliation for any violations of the deal.

Reports said the deal is to come into force on Wednesday morning, after which fighting would stop for 60 days.

During this time Israel would withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fighters would return behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north of the de facto Israeli-Lebanese border.

The Lebanese army, which is not involved in the war, is reportedly to be stationed in the border area in parallel with the Israeli withdrawal.

The agreement is to be monitored by a group of states led by the United States, along with France, Lebanon, Israel and the United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL.

The monitoring is also to ensure that the militia does not rearm. In a later step, Israel and Lebanon should also negotiate contentious border issues, the reports said.