A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by the U.S. and France took effect in Lebanon early Wednesday, raising hopes of ending more than a year of cross-border strikes and a full-scale war that has killed thousands.

The agreement halts fighting between Israel and Hezbollah for 60 days, as negotiators aim to stop Lebanon’s deadliest war in decades.

The truce is intended to stop more than a year of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel launched an offensive in Lebanon in mid-September following months of tit-for-tat border attacks sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

The deal to halt Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a victory for negotiators after weeks of intense talks, went into effect Wednesday morning.

Approval from Israeli ministers, in a 10 to 1 vote, came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced the proposal in a televised speech. Just hours earlier, Israeli forces had pounded the heart of Beirut and Hezbollah-dominated neighborhoods with some of the heaviest airstrikes of the war.

A ceasefire proposal agreed to by Lebanon and Israel stipulates that only "official military and security forces" in Lebanon are authorised to carry arms in the country, according to a copy of the deal dated on Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.