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But it's unclear whether the strategic waterway is really open without conditions.
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"We've seen now, in the last six weeks, Iran and Hezbollah almost single-handedly checking — not defeating, but checking — the two biggest military powers in the region, which is the U.S. and Israel," says Rami Khouri. Khouri says the U.S. and Israel have been "forced into" ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon. This is all a sign "of the evolving balance of power across the region" and demonstrates that Iran's Axis of Resistance "is still effective." Khouri is a Palestinian American journalist and public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut.
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A 10-day ceasefire has begun in Lebanon. The news is being celebrated across the country, but major questions remain over what happens next. President Trump announced the deal between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, says it will observe the ceasefire. The Israeli military is occupying a large swath of southern Lebanon, about 10% of the country. Early on in the current war, the Israeli military announced the intention to create a "security zone" from the Lebanese-Israeli border all the way to the Litani River, 20 miles north of the border.
Many in the country are questioning whether Israel will abide by the ceasefire, says Beirut-based journalist Kareem Chehayeb. Israel continued airstrikes on Thursday right up until the ceasefire took effect, including blowing up the last bridge over the Litani River. "With this kind of military mobilization and this ground invasion of Lebanon, many in Lebanon do fear this could lead to some sort of long-term or even permanent occupation, similar to that from 1982 until the year 2000," says Chehayeb.
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