Israel's cabinet approved a cease-fire agreement with Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's calls on Tuesday, according to reports.

The cease-fire will take effect at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday.

The accord, clearing the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities, Biden said in remarks at the White House.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, welcomed a U.S.-brokered deal to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, according to a statement from his office.

Netanyahu had called on the cabinet to back the deal to end the fighting which has been ongoing for more than a year.

He said in an address to the nation that the length of the cease-fire "depends on what happens in Lebanon" and warned that Iran-backed Hezbollah would face retaliation for any violations of the deal.

During this time Israel would withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fighters would return behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north of the de facto Israeli-Lebanese border.

The Lebanese army, which is not involved in the war, is reported to be stationed in the border area in parallel with the Israeli withdrawal.

The agreement is to be monitored by a group of states led by the United States, along with France, Lebanon, Israel and the United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL.

The monitoring is also to ensure that Hezbollah does not rearm. In a later step, Israel and Lebanon should also negotiate contentious border issues, the reports said.