Israeli security cabinet approves Lebanon ceasefire deal, official says, after 11th-hour strikes on central Beirut

(CNN) —The Israeli security cabinet on Tuesday voted to approve a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, an Israeli official told CNN, potentially bringing an end to more than a year of cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah and months of a full-scale war that has killed thousands.While the deal has not yet been officially announced, it is believed that the 60-day cessation of hostilities aims to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, with the hope that it could form the basis of a lasting truce.Resolution 1701 was adopted to end a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon in 2006, and had kept relative calm in the area for nearly two decades. That lasted until the day after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel last year, when Hezbollah attacked in solidarity, beginning more than a year of conflict.The resolution stipulated that Israel must withdraw all its forces from southern Lebanon, and that the only armed groups present south of the Litani river should be the Lebanese military and UN peacekeeping forces.In a symbolic milestone earlier Tuesday, Israeli soldiers reached the Litani river for the first time the military began ground operations in Lebanon in September.In the hours before the vote, Israel drastically stepped up...