Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon began on Wednesday morning, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict, killing at least 42 people across the country.

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck central Beirut and the city’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, raising smoke over the Lebanese capital ahead of a planned vote by Israel’s leadership on whether to accept a U.S.-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending more than a year of fighting with Hezbollah militants.