A ceasefire deal that could end more than a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group won backing from Israeli leaders Tuesday, raising hopes and renewing difficult questions in a region gripped by conflict.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has come into effect in Lebanon after more than a year of fighting. It began at 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday, putting an at-least temporary end to nearly 14 months of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.

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