Israel & Hezbollah Agree to a Ceasefire: What Next?
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This video is brought to you by Brilliant. Today, a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel begins, Russia makes significant advances in Ukraine, and the TLDR team is in Busan, South Korea, bringing updates from a UN summit aimed at tackling plastic pollution. From TLDR News, this is your daily briefing for Wednesday 27th November 2024.

A French-US brokered ceasefire is taking effect this morning in Lebanon, offering a glimmer of hope to end the protracted hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The Israeli government approved the deal late last night, and the ceasefire commenced at 4am local time this morning, following an announcement from US President Joe Biden and an approval from Israel's security cabinet. The agreement awaits confirmation from Lebanon's caretaker government.

Biden stated under the deal the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end. This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities. The ceasefire stipulates that the Israeli defence forces will gradually withdraw from Lebanon over the next 60 days, with the Lebanese army replacing them.

The pledge to respect the 2006 resolution, which requires Hezbollah to move away from the border with Israel, is at the centre of the ceasefire agreement. As such, Hezbollah will be prohibited from rebuilding its infrastructure in southern Lebanon and is expected to reposition north of the Litani River. Iran's foreign ministry welcomed the ceasefire, indicating a potential decoupling of the Lebanon conflict from Israel's ongoing offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Biden assured that the US and France would collaborate with Israel and Lebanon to ensure that the deal is fully implemented, while clarifying that no US troops would be deployed in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed readiness to adhere to the ceasefire, but emphasised that its duration depends on developments in Lebanon. He warned, if Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack.

As negotiations unfolded, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes across Lebanon, escalating tensions. The renewed conflict, which began last year when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, has claimed over 3,700 Lebanese and more than 140 Israelis, displacing over a million Lebanese and around 60,000 Israelis.

Initially confined to minor exchanges of fire, the conflict intensified into a full-scale war, particularly following Israel's substantial bombardments and ground incursions. Whilst the Lebanese military called on people not to return to frontline villages until the IDF withdraws, displaced Lebanese people have already started returning to the south of the country, amid hopes that the ceasefire deal holds.

However, the deal in Lebanon turns attention back to the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israel's military. Israeli forces continue their attack, targeting civilians, and there are few signs that a quick breakthrough ceasefire could be possible. Hamas has not yet officially commented on the Lebanese agreement, but has previously maintained that it's prepared for a ceasefire if Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza, people are allowed to return to their homes, and more humanitarian aid is admitted.

There's more on the way, but remember to subscribe and ring the bell for more Daily Briefing tomorrow. Plus, if you want to support the channel like Ruben Villoria, then consider joining the TLDR Daily Membership Programme for just £1.99.

Now over to the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces are advancing in Ukraine at the fastest rate since the early days of the war. And according to analysts and war bloggers, Russian forces have taken an area half the size of London over the past month. According to the Russian news agency Againstvo, these forces captured an estimated 91 square miles last week and 232 square miles throughout November alone.

which reinforces a trend of accelerated Russian advances on the front line since September. The main thrust of the Russian attacks has been in Ukraine's Donetsk region, towards the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurokove in the southern section of the front line, where vulnerability in Ukrainian defences have been exploited.

This acceleration follows President Vladimir Putin's directive to intensify military operations ahead of anticipated peace talks proposed by US President-elect Donald Trump for January. Despite the territorial gains, this offensive has come at a significant cost, with Ukrainian intelligence estimating daily Russian casualties at around 1,500.

The war is entering what some Russian and Western officials say could be its most dangerous phase, with Russia reported to be using North Korean troops in Ukraine and Kyiv now using Western-supplied missiles to strike back inside Russia.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, announced on Wednesday his intention to seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity relating to the alleged persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Since the 2021 coup, nearly one million Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape widespread ethnic cleansings, mass rapes and killings, actions that UN investigators have described as indicative of genocidal intent. The Buddhist-majority government in Myanmar has consistently denied claims of genocide, insisting that its military operations are aimed solely at combating terrorism and do not involve targeting civilians.

Although Myanmar is not a member of the ICC, Bangladesh is a signatory, and in 2018 the court ruled that the prosecutor could investigate crimes that were carried out on the territory of a member state, including forcible deportation. In a statement, the ICC prosecutor said his application against Min Aung Hlaing is the first of many against top Myanmar officials, and that more will follow soon.

And now we're going to bring you an update written by our team members who are in Busan, South Korea, where a UN summit is attempting to secure a landmark international treaty to tackle plastic pollution. With the week-long INC5 summit reaching its halfway point, a plenary session was convened to provide an update on the progress of negotiations.

The INC's chair has said that while there's been limited progress, progress has been too slow and work needs to speed up significantly, with a substantive draft needing to be ready by Friday to give enough time for legal drafting and consideration by the end-of-week deadline.

The chair urged that flexibility and a constructive approach was now more critical than ever, and a passionate intervention by the Panamanian delegate pointed out that some 3 billion plastic bottles had been produced since the summit opened on Monday. Many delegations, including Fiji, the EU and others, expressed concern about the pace of progress and made pleas for an effective and ambitious treaty to be reached.

Some countries, including India and Saudi Arabia, that are resistant or opposed to agreeing cuts to plastic production intervened to say that the shortage of time should not be used as an excuse to compromise on inclusiveness and consensus. Additionally, oil-producing nations like Kuwait, Iran and Russia rejected accusations that they've been slowing and hindering progress. Nevertheless, the work continues and delegates should probably expect some late nights ahead.

In the final uplifting story today, we move to Paris, where the Notre Dame Cathedral is almost ready to reopen. Back in 2019, the world-famous church caught fire, destroying around two-thirds of the roof and some of the connected walls. Ever since, France has been meticulously rebuilding the church, trying to make it as faithful to the original as possible. It seems though that after almost six years of construction, the church will be reopened to the public. Now, that's not to say that the construction is fully complete –

It will be completed in 2025, but it does mean that as of the 6th of December, visitors will be able to see the almost 900-year-old church once again.

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