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President Donald Trump<\/span> announced<\/a> on Thursday that a temporary ceasefire agreement had been reached between Israel and Lebanon. The 10-day ceasefire, set to begin at 5 p.m. ET, will reportedly see a pause to Israel\u2019s relentless assault on southern Lebanon, which has displaced<\/a> over 1.2 million people and killed<\/a> at least 2,000 since early March.<\/p>\n Any news of reduced annihilation by Israeli and U.S. forces in the region is, of course, to be welcomed. Just a week ago, Trump was threatening<\/a> to wipe out the whole civilization of Iran. In Lebanon, Israel has targeted civilian infrastructure like hospitals<\/a> and demolished villages<\/a> and homes with ferocity.<\/p>\n In the Israeli context, however, the very meaning of \u201cceasefire\u201d has been irreparably degraded. This is the lesson of Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Under the conditions of an alleged ceasefire in Gaza since October, Israel has killed<\/a> over 765 Palestinians in the Strip and injured over 2,000 \u2014 while maintaining a ground occupation of at least half the territory.<\/p>\n Those concerned about Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, too, have little reason to believe a ceasefire will see an end to Israel\u2019s expansionist violence.<\/p>\n None of this is a secret. \u201cIsrael has no plans to withdraw its military from southern Lebanon during the announced 10 day ceasefire,\u201d an Israeli security official confirmed to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Israeli officials frame unambiguous expansion into Lebanon\u2019s territory as the creation of a security \u201cbuffer zone.\u201d The plan to maintain control of southern Lebanon is an open one, with a long history, imbued with renewed fervor by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s extremist government.<\/p>\n Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said<\/a> that, even after the current war ends, Israel intends to maintain control over the territory up to the Litani River in southern Lebanon, and that all villages near Israel\u2019s ever-moving border would be destroyed.<\/p>\n \u201c[T]he policy of occupying and annexing south Lebanon up to the Litani River has long held influence among parts of the Israeli government,\u201d wrote<\/a> Mireille Rebeiz, chair of Middle East Studies at Dickinson College.\u00a0 She noted that it \u201cdates back to influential Zionist leaders \u2014 secular and religious alike \u2014 before Israeli independence in 1948.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel has invaded Lebanon seven times in the last half century. Between 1978 and 2000, Israel maintained an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon \u2014 the occupation Hezbollah was formed to fight.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth stressing, too, that while Israel and the U.S. describe the war as one against Hezbollah, it is being waged against the Lebanese people. Much like it is an unacceptable euphemism to describe Israel\u2019s genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as a war with Hamas.<\/p>\n