Israel approved a cease-fire with Lebanon that is intended to bring a halt to more than a year of fighting with the Hezbollah militia and could help defuse a broader regional crisis that has threatened to ensnare the U.

President Biden said the 60-day truce, which the United States helped broker, would take effect early Wednesday, and was intended to become permanent, ending Lebanon’s deadliest war in decades.

Israel approved a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip