Israel and Hezbollah finalized a ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, a move that could pave the way for progress in securing the release of hostages held by Hamas — including four Americans — according to Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon in an exclusive interview with The New York Post on Wednesday.

With Hezbollah’s attacks from Lebanon on Israel’s northern border expected to diminish, Danon noted that Israel could now concentrate more efforts on rescuing hostages captured during the devastating Hamas assault on October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing conflict.

“With Hamas, [the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire] will support our desire to release more hostages,” Danon stated. “We will be able to focus on Gaza.”

Hamas is believed to still hold at least four American citizens captive, along with the remains of three others that have yet to be recovered.

The ceasefire reflects Israel’s successful strategy to weaken Hezbollah’s ties to Hamas, highlighted by the killing of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to Danon.

Nasrallah had previously sought to link a Hezbollah ceasefire to a broader truce with Gaza.

“The power and determination we showed broke that linkage between Hamas and Hezbollah, and I think today, it allows us to focus more on Gaza and apply pressure to release hostages,” Danon said.

The split between the two proxy groups has diminished Hamas’ ambitions of spearheading a united regional campaign against Israel, Danon explained.

“I think today [Hamas] realizes that the ambitions that it will be a regional effort against Israel, with Iran and Hezbollah joining them, I think today they realize that it’s not happening,” he said. “You know, Hezbollah’s out of the game. Hamas also, we proved to them our capabilities.”

“So I do think that today, Hamas understands that there’s a different reality.”

However, much depends on whether Hezbollah honors the terms of the 60-day ceasefire, based on UN Resolution 1701, a framework established in 2006 to end the month-long war between Israel and Lebanon.

“From the beginning, we said very clearly that we will push Hezbollah off of the Litani River, and we accomplished this goal. You know, we also were able to degrade the capability to Hezbollah, but I think the main question is still open, which is the implementation of the agreement,” Danon told The Post.

Danon emphasized that Israel will maintain a stringent approach to any violations by Hezbollah this time.

“When you look back at 2006 when we passed Resolution 1701 in the UN Security Council, there were a lot of expectations, but then Hezbollah slowly came back with weapons, and they built a massive infrastructure on our border,” he said.

“Today, we have a different approach. We are much more determined not to allow it to happen again. And I think the implementation will be different.”

Despite the ceasefire, Danon expressed skepticism about Iran completely halting its support for Hezbollah, an organization widely regarded as an Iranian proxy.

“I don’t think that they will stop completely their efforts with Lebanon and Hezbollah. They are heavily invested, both in Lebanon and Syria, and they will continue to try to sow chaos in the region, and I don’t think that they will stop.”

“I think they will continue to spend billions of dollars on their proxies, and we see the casualties, we see the Houthis, you know,” he said. “There were great attacks on maritime [trade] and the cost of living all around the world.”

The ceasefire offers hope for a reduction in hostilities, but its long-term success hinges on Hezbollah’s compliance and the ability of Northern Israelis to return to their homes without fear of further attacks.

“We have to make sure that Hezbollah is leaving the area, and we are deploying our forces back into Israel. But I think the challenge will be in the after that to see what’s actually happening,” he concluded.

{Matzav.com}